


Run and Go

by Astrumiel, sasstrick



Series: Run and Go [2]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Other, Post Crash and Burn AU, Violence, smut (in later chapters)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-01 09:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4014298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astrumiel/pseuds/Astrumiel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasstrick/pseuds/sasstrick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After five years, Ty and Zane have been through more together than they could have anticipated. Now, with things settling around them, their bookstore a success, and the ink on ring fingers healed over, it’s time for the next step: Children. But as usual, nothing can be easy for these two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Evie

 

2 Years Later

The sun is high and wind is chilled. Not as cold as where they had come from, but cold. Cold for a child. Too cold.

She had to get them away. From her life and from her lover. His brutality would only ruin the life of their daughter and make her into a weapon, just as she was built to be all her life. And she would die before she let that happen.

They take a taxi from the airport. Once she felt comfortable that Alex would not track them to somewhere such as Atlanta, she decided to stay for a while, until she could figure out where to go from here. Until she knew where Alex was and what his intentions were regarding her and the baby.

A loud wail coming from the bundle in her arms broke her from her thoughts.

“Shhh, Tishe teper' moya zvezda, eto normal'no,” She hushes her daughter in a low voice, rocking her softly and swallowing at the bile in her throat that she had nothing to give her child to calm her other than her warmth. She was able to bring American currency that she stole over the flights from innocent passengers. Small amounts here and there, nothing they will truly miss, but no clothes and no supplies.

She orders the cab to a back road motel, she needed somewhere Alex would not find even if he tracked her to this city. Somewhere so off the grid, no one would suspect.

When they get there, she pays the cab fare in cash and gets a room.

“It’s okay, my love,” She whispers to Nadya quietly, testing English on her tongue. She’s fluent in many languages, but it’s been some time since she had to speak strictly one away from Russian.

She settles her daughter in a nest of blankets for her nap on the bed and retreats to the bathroom to shower quickly while she had time. They would need to find a store once Nadya awoke. Get some clothes and some food. It’s been a few days since she’s been able to feed Nadya anything other than mashed up bananas.

Once finished with the shower, she sets up a few security conveniences by the windows and settles down for a nap with her daughter, her pistol under her pillow.

 

~*~

Zane lays on his side, the morning sun raining over the bed. Ty is asleep, facing him with a similar position and Zane scoots closer, running his fingertips over his husband’s arm. It’s been a couple years since their last life threatening encounter. The one where they’d almost lost Nick. And each other.

But things were better. Things were normal. They had the bookstore with the occasional UC work and the CIA to keep them sane. And they had cats.

And a child’s room without a child.

Zane blows out some air and rolls to his back, staring up at the ceiling with a heavy feeling in his chest. He rubs at it with his hand and slowly gets up out of the bed without disturbing Ty. He smiles down at him and leans to press his lips to his head before pulling Ty’s sweatpants over his naked hips.

He finds himself climbing the steps to what used to be an office. It has now been turned into a bedroom with pale turquoise walls and white curtains. A crib sat in the corner, still in the box and a cream colored dresser on the opposite wall.

Zane swallows, stepping into the room and picking up a stuffed elephant that had been laying by the boxed crib. He frowns at it and holds it to his chest, rubbing at the same heaviness over his heart.

They’d been trying to adopt for over a year. They’d gone through countless interviews and inspections. They’d done everything they could to move the process along, but the agencies kept putting them on hold, putting them on the back burner. No one wanted to deal with the attention that came from two gay ex FBI agents with iffy backgrounds, adopting a child. There was too much controversy. But they deserved this. They needed this.

He never thought about having children with Becky. They’d never talked about it before and he’d never wanted to turn out like his mother and end up loathing his own child. But now it was different. Now he was a different person and he had Ty. Not that he wouldn’t have wanted children with Becky, it was just not something that seemed important with her.

He swallowed against the lump in his throat, wanting so desperately to see Ty holding their child and being able to have his own family. His own small world of perfection. He and Ty were a team. They worked and they loved endlessly, but to share that love with a child that needed a loving family? That would complete their perfect world. And just because they weren’t a typical married couple, meant that they had to wait. It pissed him off. It pissed him off that he couldn’t give this to his husband. For them.

“Zane.” Ty had crept up behind him. He hadn’t heard him, but he felt him. He grew to sense him since he was so quiet.

“Hey,” He says quietly, setting the stuffed elephant on the dresser and turning to Ty, trying to mask the sadness and need in his eyes. He never thought he would want this so much.

“Come here,” His husband murmured softly, reaching for him. Zane complied, walking into his arms fluidly and leaning down to rest his forehead to his shoulder.

“Sorry.” He whispered, emotion clogging his throat a little.

“I know,” Ty nods, pressing his lips to Zane’s head as he runs his hands over his back and tries to take away the grief.

“It’s so unfair,” Zane says sadly.

“It’ll happen when it’s meant to. We just have to wait patiently,” He tells him, moving away just enough to look him in the eyes. There was moisture there. Need.

“I know, it just sucks,” He laughs sadly and Ty nods, leaning in to press his lips to Zane’s. After seven years together, they still loved infinitely. Their heavy need for one another was still as strong as the day they realized what they meant to each other. Nothing had faded and it never would. Nothing could break them. But there was still hurt. Hurt that would affect them both, but they would get through it together. They would have to.

When the phone rang two days later Ty picked it up with the enthusiasm of a man who had spent one too many days trapped at home due to crappy weather. Maybe it was their conversation from a few nights back or just the pure need for good news that had Zane standing next to him as he answered the phone.

“Yes, of course.” Ty paused and shot Zane a smile. “Yes I’m ready, I’ve been waiting for a while actually, thank you!” he practically chirped as he hung up.

“Guess what?” Ty asked and then answered in a rush. “I fiiiiiinaly get to go out in the field for a few days. The DC branch needs me to come in!”

Zane blinked, that’s not the call he thought they were getting but it was good news on the line all the same. “That’s great babe, what do they want you out there for?” He asked.

“Not quite sure yet but as long as it’s not paperwork or shelving books I’m down for it. No offense, but shelving for a week straight is pretty much as much as I can handle.”

“When do they want you to head out?” Zane asked pulling Ty forward by the belt loops for a kiss.

“Tonight!” He laughted.

“What? So soon?” Zane asked a bit disappointed, the heavy feeling over his heart that was there that morning seemed to take on some more weight.

“Yeah they need me as soon as possible, but hey the sooner I leave the sooner I come back right?”

“That’s true, you want me to go help you pack?” Zane asked in a softer voice letting him know that he had no intention of actually packing.

“Zane, babe…” Ty said torn between letting his husband pull him to bed and actually getting his things packed so he could make his flight on time. His cell phone made the choice for him.

He flipped it open and groaned at the little message, “Agent Grady your transport is waiting outside for you.” Sometimes their employer was a little impatient.

“Tell you what, the minute I’m back in town we’re taking a long weekend, even if it’s a Wednesday.” Ty said moving to grab one of the duffles they kept in the closet for times like these.

“He sent a car to make sure you didn’t miss your flight, didn’t he?” Zane asked watching him.

“Yeah. It’s almost creepy how he does these things” Ty said slipping his shoes on and walking towards the door. “Kiss before I go?” he asked.

“Of course.” Zane smiled and pulled him in, gently breathing him in before leaving a bruising kiss right on the juncture of his neck, biting just enough to make sure it wouldn’t fade until days later, then finally pressing a kiss to Ty’s lips, lingering and memorizing his taste, as if he could forget it anyway. “Best not keep them waiting.” He said with a smug grin, there was no hiding the hickey on Ty’s neck, unless he planned to wear a turtleneck in DC in mid May.

“I- umm.” Ty started, trying to regain composure and upper brain function. “I am so getting you back for this later.” he said running out the door as a car horn rang out.

“Looking forward to it!” Zane called after him.

~*~

Three weeks, two days and 16 hours pass before he finds them. She knows his voice, the low tone of it and the clipped words. His rough english and heavy accent are hard to miss.

“Come, come, Nadya, we must leave,” She hushes her child, slipping a blanket around her sleeping baby. She steps into her boots, leaving the rest of their things. He would be checking every room. The motel owner would not give him any information, however, he wouldn’t be satisfied with just that.

She leaves out the back window of the motel bathroom, heading straight for the cadallac she had stolen when they first settled into the room. She’d hidden it in the coverage of the trees behind the motel, the keys already in the ignition. She quickly strapped the child in and got in the driver’s seat. She eased the car out near the road, studying the motel and watching Alex stalk out of their room, fury causing his face to scrunch. She swallows, not wanting to move the car and draw attention, but needing to get out. When his eyes meet her’s, she doesn’t hesitate.

Alex is on them almost immediately, his rented sports car eating up the road behind them. She heads for the city, taking the route she had planned for weeks now, taking the roads she knew by heart and using her plan she hoped would work. She knew would work.

Alex loses them once in the heart of the city. He growls as his ignorance, scanning the side roads as he dodges drivers and pedestrians. She either had changed automobiles or had stopped off somewhere. He backtracks to where he had lost her and takes another route, looking for her. He finally had a whiff of them, he refused to start over.

He tries the east side, listening to the radio carefully, looking for any indication that she might be in the area or where she would be.

His temper is at its end and he’s about to lose it when he spots the blue cadillac coming out of an alley. He floors it, keeping on her and getting too close to her bumper.

He growls and presses the gas, hitting her finally and she cuts a sharp right. He follows close and bumps her again, enough to make her lose control a bit but not enough to harm the child. He needed the child alive.

She accelerates excessively when the road clears more of the traffic. They were reaching the edge of the city, the buildings becoming more rough and more uninhabited. When she takes another sharp turn into a back alley, he curses, breaking hard and following after her. When he reaches the car, she has left it, searching for solace in a tall abandoned apartment building with hundreds of empty, dirty units.

He checks his glock, making sure he had all the bullets and puts his extra magazine in his pocket. He would need to be careful with this one.

He enters the building quietly, letting his eyes adjust to the abrupt darkness. He listens carefully, searching for footsteps or any noises of a baby. She could be anywhere in the building now.

He finds the stairwell and smiles when he hears her running up the steps.

“You cannot run forever, Natasha,” He calls just as she disappears through a door on one of the floors. He squints up where she exited, seeing the number on the wall beside the door. 13.

He takes the steps two at a time, needing to close in on her before she found a way to escape him once more. She was too good at what she did. Better than him. Better than anyone. That was one of things he was so attracted to in the first place. She was lethal.

“Natasha,” He sings as he found the thirteenth door. The hall was long and doors were endless. He glared, raising his gun up and squinting through the dark. He perked his ears, listening for any movement. He opens every door he passes, banging it against the inner wall and doing a quick once over before moving on.

He starts when he kicks in the ninth door.

She stands in the middle of the dusty, abandoned apartment, chest heaving and the small bundle clutched to her. Her eyes are wild and angry and she holds the child close, shaking her head at him.

“Put the child down and give up,” He says carefully and she jerks her head, stepping back a step when he takes one forward.

“Why couldn’t you just leave us alone,” She asks desperately, turning on her heel to face the window. When he realizes she may jump, he rushes forward, shoving into her back to knock her off balance.

She splays out, the bundled baby hitting the floor a few feet away. When she reaches for her, he steps on her hand, grinding the bones under his boot.

“Silly girl,” He spits and bends to pick up the baby, however, his hand over grips empty blankets. Alex blanches, collecting the bundle and cursing at the emptiness. He almost screams as he turns to Natasha.

“Silly man,” She smirks, a lighter in her hand. It’s then that he smells the gas of the oven and he has no time to move before she lights the fire.

~*~

The days when they were apart on missions always seemed to drag, they were too quiet, too empty when they were apart. It made them appreciate their time together. Now everytime the phone rang Zane still turned, expecting Ty to beat him to the phone with the unrelenting optimism that it was the call they were still waiting for. About a week after Ty left he found himself staring at the empty nursery again. The whole place felt so empty, despite the bright colors and soft details, it just didn’t feel like part of their home, not yet. The phone rang disturbing Zane’s thoughts, probably Ty telling him when his flight home was getting in. the thought made his heart lighter, at least he had that to look forward to.

“Hello?” he answered fully expecting Ty to just start complaining about the case before he even got the flight details out. However the voice on the end of the line was very clearly not Ty’s.

“Mr. Garrett?” a vaguely familiar feminine voice asked.

“Yes? How can I help you?” Zane asked trying to place the voice.

“Hi I’m Kit Wells form the Adoption Agency here in Baltimore, we spoke a few months ago I believe?” For a few heart beats, Zane wasn’t sure what to do, all this time waiting and now finally a call back.

“Mr. Garrett?” she asked again hesitantly.

“Yes, sorry you caught me off-guard.” he managed out gripping the table for support.

“Is this a bad time? I can call you ba-”

“No it’s perfect just a bit unexpected, it’ been awhile since we’ve been in contact.” Zane explained.

“Oh well, than let ask you this, are you and your husband still looking to adopt?” she asked, the bubbly tone becoming apparent in her voice.

“We are.” Zane said firmly, his heart beating hard in his chest.

“Wonderful, if you two would like to come in there’s someone we think you should meet.” Kit told him, I’ll call you tomorrow or the day after when the details are settled and we can find a day for you to meet her.”

“Her?” Zane echoed, warmth spreading through his body.

“That won’t be a problem will it? We try to accommodate our clients-”

“No! It’s perfect, it’s just that, after months it’s actually happening and . . . a baby girl.” he laughed lightly as relief and joy shook him. “We’re going to have a baby girl.” he echoed.

“I can tell you’re excited.” she said. “We’re very happy to have found her a home. Like I said, I’ll be in touch with the rest of the details soon. You have a wonderful afternoon.” She told him and hung up after he answered in a giddy daze.

Zane knew there were tears in his eyes when he hung up. The only thing that could possibly have made this moment better was-

“Hey babe?” Ty called throwing his duffle by the door. “Are you home?”

“Upstairs.” Zane managed in an even voice.

“You would not believe the week I’ve had, they call me in for what was suppose to be “ a simple case consultation Agent Grady” “ we really don’t need the CIA here Agent Grady” Ty mimicked a nasally voice as he trudged up the stairs. “Really they were in way over their- Zane what’s wrong?” he asked catching sight of his teary eyes, as he stood by the phone. Zane shook his head smiling.

“Nothing’s wrong I promise.” He said stepping closer. Ty looked incredible to him right now, lit up by the sunlight coming in through the windows, for the first time after weeks of rain and overcast skies. “Actually it’s the opposite.”

“What is it?” Ty asked eyes searching his face, he had been looking forward to seeing his husband all week but this was something else all together.

Instead of answering, Zane took his face in his hands and started pressing gentle little kisses everywhere.

“Mmm alright Romeo, not ahhh, that this isn’t awesome or anything, but have you been watching lifetime dramas or reading housewife romance novels again by any chance?” Ty teased him, wrapping his arms around his shoulder.

“We’re gonna be parents.” Zane told him simply, pulling back to watch the news settle.

“Sure we- you got the phone call?” Ty asked him, eyes going wide as the news sank in.

“I literally got off the phone with one of the counselors right before you walked in.” Zane told him, and maybe somewhere during that time one of the tears he was holding back slipped free.

“You got the call, the ONE time I wasn’t here to get it?!” Ty said laughing and a tad annoyed.

“She’ll call us tomorrow with details but tell me, how do you feel about raising a daughter?” Zane asked smiling openly the entire time.

Ty stared at his husband for a long moment, his mouth slack and his eyes filling. His hands slid from Zane’s shoulders and up into his hair, pulling him down to press their foreheads together. Zane smiled softly, pulling their bodies together and closing his eyes.

“A daughter,” Ty spoke so softly that Zane almost didn’t hear him. He nodded, pressing his lips to Ty’s cheeks where the unspoken wetness was. He kissed away the tears. The tears that were flooding over due to the complete relief and absolute happiness that filled Ty at the thought of finally, finally, getting the chance to raise a child with Zane at his side. Finally.

~*~

One week later, they were waiting in a small office in a DC adoption agency.

“Ty, calm yourself, babe,” Zane says softly to his husband, running his hands over his arms to warm him and give him his presence to lean on. The man was so high strung, he was vibrating.

“I can’t wait to hold her, Zane, it’s killing me,” Ty whispers harshly, leaning his forehead to Zane’s shoulder and attempts to breath.

“I know, doll. They’re bringing her now, just breath and try not to crush her when they get here,” Zane chuckles and runs his hands over Ty’s back, trying to absorb some of the tension from his spine.

“Mr. Garrett? Grady? The social worker wonders from the door behind them. Ty stands immediately, turning to them and Zane follows, letting his hand rest on the small of Ty’s back.

The little girl, around one year old, maybe younger, stared up at them from her place on the lady’s hip. Her fingers were shoved into her pouty mouth, her thumb and pinkie sticking out at each end. Her big green eyes stare up at them in suspicion.

“Her name?” Ty asks softly, stepping forward and holding his hands out, hoping she would accept him.

“She doesn’t have one. She was left at a safe haven location a few days ago… she’s a little too old to be left like she was but we think the parents may not have been from the U.S., there is no possible way of tracking them down, and quite frankly I don’t think they want to be found,” The lady explained and held the little girl out to Ty and after watching the man for a moment, she leaned forward into his arms. “I’ll leave you alone with her for a moment and I’ll get all the paperwork,” Social worker lady explains and disappears.

Ty stares down into the green eyes and his entire body warms as she fits into his arms and against his chest perfectly. She seems to relax and after a moment of watching him to see if he’d hurt her, she rests her head to his shoulder, fingers still in her mouth. She stares at Zane over Ty’s shoulders and he lifts his hand slowly, showing her he was moving. She holds still as he lets his fingers play over her light hair and she closes her eyes as he lays his palm over the crown of her head.

“She’s perfect, Zane,” Ty whispers, rocking her a little.

“She is,” Zane nods, emotion clogging his throat.

“Evelyn?” He asks. They had talked baby names.

“Evie,” Zane nods and the child opens her eyes to look at him again. “Evie, you like that name?” He asks and lowers his face to her level and she pulls her fingers from her mouth and reaches out to rest her slobbery hand on his cheek.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cry, man,” Ty laughs, turning to Zane and making Evie’s hand fall from Zane’s face. He stands straight again as Ty offers him her to hold and he nods, holding his arms out. She switches effortlessly, curling into Zane’s broad body comfortably. He holds her with one arm and pushes her hair from her eyes with the other. She watches him the entire time, poking her wet finger at his face.

“She loves you,” Ty smiles, stepping closer and resting his hand on her back.

“She might be from another country. You think she understands any english?” Zane asks.

“I guess we’ll find out,” He says, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead and she makes a blubbery sound with her lips and Ty has to turn away to reel in his emotions.

“Ty, I’ve never felt like this,” Zane says on a rush of breath, holding Evie closer and burying his face in her curly hair when he knew she was comfortable with him.

“Me either,” He says, stepping back to his husband and their daughter, pressing his nose to Zane’s cheek and smiling.

“I never thought-” Zane cut off, emotion getting in way as he looked up and tried to blink away tears.

“I know,” Ty nods, kissing Zane softly. They are interrupted with a slobbery hand pushing at their cheeks.

“Okay, baby girl,” Zane laughs, separating from Ty and pressing his lips to her forehead. She gives a small smile.

“Okay, here we are,” The social worker announces, coming in a swift walk to her desk. Ty and Zane smile softly, taking their seats facing her and she lays out the paper work. Her birth certificate, social security card, adoption filings, etc. All laid out before them. They’d gone through the last two years after the whole thing in Miami, going through interviews, inspections, record checking, just so they could, as a gay couple, be suitable parents for a little girl.They’d been on the brink of approval when they were called. As special agents, their social worker that they’d been working with one on one, had gotten news about Evie and thought this would have been something Ty and Zane would be interested in. She was right. So now there they were, sitting across a woman they never met before with a beautiful baby girl in their arms.

“There will be a few months of a type of probation faze. Random check ins, seeing that you do well with the child. Monthly doctor check ups and we’ll be getting the records, make sure everything goes smoothly,” She explains, pushing a pen to them to sign as her legal guardians. Zane holds her close as she blows spit bubbles on his throat as he leans forward to sign the most important document of his life. Aside from his marriage license.

“Did you decide on a name?” She asks them, pushing the birth certificate to them. The date would be this one, assuming she was around one.

“Evelyn,” Ty answers, smiling over at Zane and Evie proudly.

“Middle name?” She inquires, writing it in. Ty stares at Zane pointedly for a moment and he looks as if he wants to say something but bites his lip.

“Rebecca,” Ty answers her softly and Zane’s eyes go wide for a moment before warming rapidly and giving a slight glisten. Zane had been through hell and back before he found Ty. And Becky had been someone that saved him from his mother. Someone that had loved him dearly and meant a great deal to him. Ty owed her for making Zane the man he is today. The man he loves with all his soul.

Zane grips Ty’s hand tightly and nods to the social worker. “Evelyn Rebecca Grady-Garrett,” He tells her and she nods, writing the name down and giving the document to them to sign as well while she wrote the name on the adoption papers.

They went over a few things, the social working giving them an interview they’d been given many time before and when she was satisfied, she stood with a smile.

“Congratulations, it’s a girl,” She chuckled and Ty and Zane stood with the infant, filled with so much happiness, they were vibrating.

~*~  
The drive home was long. Evie was found in Atlanta and had been transferred to DC when their social worker contacted the adoption agency for them. The drive was only a little over an hour with traffic, but with a one year old with no supplies, it was rough.

About twenty minutes into the drive, Ty had to pull over to a drug store and collect some essentials. They’d been preparing for this over the last year so home had everything they needed. They just needed to get her there.

“I’ll stay with her, try to calm her down,” Zane nodded to his husband, crawling to the back seat of the mustang.

Ty practically ran from the car, hearing the tearing sounds of a wailing baby follow him through the sliding glass doors. He grabbed a basket on his way in and headed straight for the back, shoving a pack of diapers under his arm as he passed an end cap of them. He wonders if he should get baby food or formula, and remembers that she’d been found in the elements and possibly malnourished. He grabs the formula, and a few sippy cups with the rubber tops instead of the hard plastic and heads to the front, stopping briefly at the coffee machine and getting a cup of hot water. On the way to the counter, he grabs a bottle of cold water and pays quickly, hearing his baby screaming like the earth was on fire.

When he neared the mustang, he could see Zane hovering over her car seat making the most ridiculous face. It’s something he never really saw before and it made him smile wide.

“I got some formula, in case she’s not ready for jar food yet,” He said, letting Zane know he was there. Zane nodded, moving away from the screaming baby and taking the packaged bottles from Ty. He ripped oven the box and offered a lidless cup to Ty to fill with the 60/40 cold and hot water with a few spoonfuls of formula. When they gave it to her with the rubber lid (after checking the temp of course), her red, streaky face immediately relaxed as she cooed and took it greedily.

“God, she’s beautiful,” Ty whispered in awe and Zane reached across her car seat to take Ty’s hand in his.

“She’s ours,” He said softly, proud in so many ways.

“We’re never going to sleep again,” Ty laughed, getting in the front seat to get back on the highway and get home as soon as possible.

“Worth it,” Zane replied, making soothing noises to Evie from the back seat as she ate.

“What if she has a cat allergy?” Ty asked, a little panicked and Zane laughed.

“Then Jiminy and Cricket will be living full time at the bookstore, I suppose,” He replies, still watching his new baby girl fondly.

“You won’t make me get rid of them?” Ty asked hopefully. Zane tore his eyes from his new pride and joy to look up at Ty with a cocked eyebrow.

“Hell no. You wouldn’t do it even if I made you anyway. You love those things more than me,” He said jokingly, holding Ty’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Not true,” Ty laughed shaking his head.

“A little true,” Zane argued.

“Ok a little,” Ty teased back and moved his eyes back to the highway. Zane was a little cramped back there and Ty thought breifly that they would need to get something bigger. Maybe a van. “Oh God,” He groaned loudly as if the world were ending.

“What?” Zane asked, looking up and searching for threats outside the car.

“We’re going to have to get a god damn van,” He muttered. Zane chuckled, amused.

“We could just get something with a back seat. Like maybe a SUV.”

“Oh, good call,” Ty nodded. Good, he won’t have to be seen in a fucking mini van. “I knew I married you for more than your looks. You’re so smart, baby,” He sighs, smiling warmly as he drove on. Zane grunted in response, going back to humoring their moody daughter.

It’s almost dark when they arrive at home. Ty eagerly takes the little girl from Zane since he was able to ride in the back with her the entire way. It’s only fair.

“You are going to be the most beautiful, spoiled, princess on the entire block,” He smiles, pressing his lips to her temple while Zane unlocks the front door with her diaper bag slung over his shoulder.

Evie lays her head on Ty’s shoulder, staring up at him with the same curious eyes as before and he holds her close as they enter the house. Jiminy and Cricket skitter away from the door, stopping from a safe location in the hallway to peer up at them, getting a good look at their new host.

“Please don’t make me kick you two out,” Ty points at them and they eye him before turning and wandering away somewhere.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Zane smiles, stepping to him and pressing his lips to Ty’s softly. Evie makes a noise and pulls from Ty’s arms and when Zane pulls away to look at her, she’s gripping the lapel of his leather jacket. Ty frowns at this and let’s her fall into Zane’s arms.

“They always like you more,” Ty pouts and Zane chuckles, hoisting her up so she could play with his beard.

“It’s just because I spent an hour in her face. Just have patience, babe,” Zane smiles, using his free hand to take Ty’s. “Let’s go set up her room, yeah?”

“Yeah, ok,” Ty grumbles and Zane smiles, pulling him up the stairs to where they remade the office into a nursery.

Zane let’s her play on the white and black striped rug as they set up the crib. They hadn’t had much time to prepare her room before getting the call. So now they were stuck attempting the atrocity called a crib while she crawled around and played with her new toys happily.

“This thing is fucking impossible,” Ty growls, throwing his hands up when piece F doesn’t fit into placement B.

“Language, Ty, jesus,” Zane hisses and Ty rolls his eyes.

“She’s one, man!” Ty argues.

“Yeah and you’ll be regretting it when her first word is fuck, now watch your mouth,” Zane laughed.

“Truck!” She garbles from the corner and both Ty and Zane turn to stare at her.

“No, no no no,” Ty laughs, stalking over to her and lifting her high over his head. “Daddy!” He tells her slowly.

“Tr-uck!” She giggles as he throws her gently up in the air and Zane chuckles.

“Maybe I wanted to be daddy,” Zane smiles, screwing a bar into another piece.

“Mmm, you can be my daddy any day, baby,” Ty murmurs seductively, rolling his hips towards Zane.

“Now that we have a daughter, that shit can’t fly,” Zane laughs, shaking his head and playfully pushing away Ty’s hip.

“Whatever you say, Daddy,” Ty winks and Zane rolls his eyes.

“Go give her a bath while I finish this,” He tells Ty, actually getting something that resembles a crib out of the pile of wood they began with.

“Yes, daddy,” Ty says, smiling, pressing a kiss to Evie’s cheek and the little girl smiles, scrunching her nose at the tickle of his stubble.

“Ty!” Zane laughs.

“You like it,” Ty says before fleeing to the bathroom down the hall.

 

Zane gets the crib finished fairly quickly once Ty left with Evie. He sets it up on the far wall, placing a few stuffed animals in the corners. He smiles at his handiwork and surveys the room. The room they would finally be able to use. They’ve been waiting so long for this and it’s almost overwhelming with how quickly it happened, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

He heard the high pitched giggles mixed with low hums and rumbles from down the hall and closed his eyes, thinking it was the most wonderful sound he has ever heard.

When he finds them, Ty is drenched and Evie has his hair in death grips.

“You doing okay?” Zane laughs, stepping forward with a towel and prying her hands from Ty’s head.

“She’s feisty. I like it,” Ty smiles. “She’s gonna be such a badass, just like her parents,” Ty sighs proudly and Zane rolls his eyes, picking her up from the water and wrapping her in the fluffy towel.

The little girl curls into Zane’s body, cuddling into the towel and closing her eyes. She shoves her fingers in her mouth and begins to hum a little. Zane’s heart pulls as she uses him as a bed.

“Don’t move, oh god, I’m dying,” Ty groans, pulling his phone out and taking a photo before Zane can react.

“Should we feed her before we put her down?” Zane asks, looking up at Ty who is now peeling his sopping wet shirt over his head.

“Probably should try or she might be up all night,” He nods. “I’ll go warm up a bottle,” He says and goes to walk passed them but Zane stops him.

“I love you,” He tells Ty. The other man smiles slowly, lifting a hand to tangle in Zane’s dark hair.

“I love you too, big daddy,” He smirks and Zane rolls his eyes, scoffing.

“I’ll be in her room,” He mumbles, walking away from his husband.

They get through the night, almost.

Even though the crib is finished and filled with all things soft and comfortable Evie ends up falling asleep in the big bed between them before they even realize it, and Ty points out that moving her might wake her up so they do their best to settle quietly to sleep around her.

They make it to just past three am without an incident. Almost too good to be true, Zane is awake almost the same moment she is, she fusses restlessly for a moment in her sleep before waking up and beginning the little hiccup that signal a long cry.

“Oh now sweetie it’s ok” Zane whispers reaching to curl his arm around her, he’s startled to find Ty doing the same. “Hey I didn’t realize you were awake too.”

“Mmmmhmm.” Ty hums first pulling Evie carefully closer to his chest then grabbing Zanes arm to urge him closer. They form a sort of nest around Evie who is already letting out calmer noises as she settles again. “Sleep princess you can cause trouble in the morning.” Ty tells her, pressing a little kiss to the top of her head. When he looks up expecting Zane to have fallen asleep he finds him looking at both of them adoringly, it’s almost enough to make him teary-eyed.

“Sleep you sap.” he whispers his own voice going very soft. Zane just gives him a tiny shake of his head smiling as he leans in to press his lips to Ty’s cheek.

He could say something but it’s still gray out and he’s sleepy but it’s such a sweet moment he keeps his eyes open as long as he can to try to drink it all in.

After a few minutes, or at least what felt like just a few minutes Ty heard a hesitant whisper.”Did you ever think it would be like this?” Zane asked.

“Did I ever think I’d be awake at three in the morning answering vague questions?” Ty teased in a whisper, watching Zane roll his eyes affectionately in the soft pre-morning light. “No actually.” he answered more seriously. “I never thought I’d make it out of the desert, for a long time I thought if I made it past thirty-five it would be a miracle.” He gave Zane a sad sort of smile. “So if you asked me then I would have told you never in a million years would I see myself waking up with a daughter in my arms and a husband by my side.” The smile bloomed into joy. “All that changed because of you.”

“Ty” Zane started, he wasn’t sure what to say, after something like that what could he say? Instead he opted for a better way to express what he wanted to get across. Slowly moving his hand up Ty’s arm he brought it up to gently cradle his cheek and let his thumb sweep across the arch of his cheekbone. It was one of those moments where they felt they could communicate without words. In an almost synchronized way they moved carefully around their sleeping daughter to get closer, Ty’s nose bumping not too gracefully at Zane’s cheek before they found the right angle to press their lips flush together and savor just being close.

“Before you I never thought I’d get to be this happy ever again.” Zane confessed when they finally parted.

“Glad to prove you wrong.” Ty teased. his voice still light, a miracle after all the trauma they had endured they had come together and learned to heal, finding the broken and missing pieces and fitting them back together, becoming stronger together.

It made Zane give him a huff of a laugh. “Sleep wise guy.” he whispered then added. “I love you too.”

The next few days are a flurry of excitement that range from getting all of Evie’s paper work done, getting her passport, setting up doctor’s appointments and a flurry of other things that all come with having a one year old in the house. As it turns out not only is she not allergic to the cats, Jimminy and Cricket took to her immediately, letting her run her excited little hands over them without complaint. It made Ty beam like a proud father of three.

When the weekend rolls around, they are packing the car for a trip out of West Virginia. It’s Mara Grady’s birthday and the weekend has been planned for a while now. It’s a plus that they get to celebrate Evie’s arrival as well.

“I’m so excited for the pie,” Zane sighs, leaning back in his place in the passenger seat. Evie blurbles happily from the backseat and he closes his eyes, smiling softly at the easing tone of it.

“Who isn’t?” Ty laughs. “Ma is gonna spoil the shit out of her. I can’t wait to see what she’s baked up for the occasion,” He smiles over at his husband and reaches across the console to lace their fingers.

“How did she take the news? Lots of tears?” Zane smiled, turning his head slightly to face Ty. His husband’s beaming smile dropped as soon as his words were out.

“I thought you called her?” He accused, glancing frantically to Zane and back to the road.

“Me? Ty, she’s your mom!” Zane laughed, sitting up before it hit him and his face dropped.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Ty groaned, pulling over to the side of the road and letting go of the wheel to pull at his hair. Evie giggled from the back seat.

“Should we call them now?” Zane asks, looking at Ty confused.

“I feel like we’re a little late on that,” Ty cursed, shaking his head and staring out the windshield.

“Jesus, Ty, she’s gonna freak,” Zane murmured, shaking his head.

Ty nods, staring out onto the road and trying to think. They’re literally twenty minutes out from the Grady house. They couldn’t just call her and warn her? Unless…

“That’s your trouble smirk, what the hell are you plotting?” Zane groaned, rubbing his eyes with his fingers aggravatedly.

“I mean,” Ty laughed, turning in his seat to face Zane. “It’s Ma’s birthday weekend. We forgot to tell her. What’s a better surprise birthday present than a grandkid?” He chuckled low and Zane sighed, letting his gaze fall on his husband.

“She’s not gonna buy it, but it’s the only logical option. Should we get her a gift wrap bow?” He suggested, smiling a little and Ty snapped his fingers at him, leaning forward and planting a loud, smacking kiss on his husband’s mouth.

“You’re so smart!” Ty cheered, turning forward in his seat and easing back onto the highway. ‘

When they got into town, they made a short stop at the dollar store and got a pink Happy Birthday ribbon to plant on Evie’s head, which she immediately pulled out of her hair and shoved in her mouth.

“Here goes nothing,” Ty grumbled, pulling into the driveway. It was early summer, so Earl was already outside on the grill, Mara shuffling out of the back door to bring him the raw meat. Chester was in his rocking chair as usual, and Deuce, Livi, and Amelia were out in the backyard on the small swingset Earl had built a couple years ago.

“Or everything,” Zane muttered, throwing Ty one last desperate look before getting out.

“Tyler!” Mara called happily, handing off the plate of meat to Earl and hustling off the porch to them.

He met her about ten feet from the car and stopped her. She looked up at him confused and he smiled down at her face nervously.

“Hey Ma, happy birthday,” He said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

“Thank you?” She side eyed him. “What are you up to? What is Zane doing?” She wondered, trying to crane her neck to see. By now everyone was looking at them and Ty sighed.

“We have a pretty big present for you,” He said, stepping aside and lowering his head, cringing a little from the inevitable yelling. Zane was bent at the waist, reaching into the back seat of the Mustang. He was struggling a little and laughing. Everyone watched them in silence and soon, he stood up at his full length, a bouncing, smiling, baby girl in his arms with a lopsided birthday ribbon tied into her hair.

“Oh my good God,” Mara murmured, taking a small step forward before glancing back at Ty for confirmation. He smiled warmly at her and nodded.

“Ma, I’d like you to meet Evie, you’re new Granddaughter,” Ty announced thickly, just now realizing how perfect this present really was.

Mara lifted a shaking hand to her mouth, as her eyes filled with tears and she nodded, turning back to Zane and Evie. Zane was smiling contently as he walked forward to meet her in the middle, immediately transferring the infant to her new grandmother’s arms. Mara had tears streaming down her cheeks and Evie smiled, leaning forward to press her face to the wetness. Mara squeezed the little girl tightly and soon, Earl, Deuce, Livi, and Amelia were crowding around the two, all talking in a rush and trying to get a peek at the new addition.

Zane smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he rounded the family to stand next to his husband.

“Well this went well,” He chuckled and Ty nodded, blowing out a breath he’d been holding.

“Too well,” Ty laughed, reaching out to take Zane’s hand from his pocket and lacing their fingers. He pressed a kiss to his husband’s lips before turning back to the family just as Mara handed off the child to Livi. She stepped back, smoothing a hand down her front and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She turned to Ty and Zane, taking calm steps towards them.

“Boys,” She started and Ty nodded. “I know for a fact that you forgot to tell me,” She stated and Ty paled just as her hand came up and whacked him on the ear.

“Ma!” Ty groaned, holding the side of his head as she stepped up to Zane. She eyed his height and glared at him before he sighed, leaning down for her. She whacked him on the ear as well.

They were both groaning as she wrapped them up in her arms. “But this is the best present I have ever gotten. Thank you, I love you both so much,” She whispered between their heads and squeezed them tighter. Ty and Zane wrapped their arms around her and themselves, squeezing back just as tight.


	2. Family

“Well that went… well,” Zane commented later that night as they got ready for bed in Ty’s childhood bedroom. Evie was snoozing in her pack-n-play in the corner and had been for a few hours.

“Other than my ears getting bruised to hell,” Ty grumbled, stripping out of his shirt and sighing into the bed near the wall.

“Mmm,” Zane hummed, sliding in beside him and pressing his lips to Ty’s red ear. “I’m sorry, baby,” He murmured, sliding his hand over Ty’s abdomen and rubbing at the muscles there soothingly.

“I’m so happy,” Ty said a little dazedly, staring up at the ceiling and Zane curled around him, tangling their legs. His head rested on Ty’s shoulder and Ty leaned his cheek against the crown of Zane’s head. Zane nodded, sighing in contentment and pressed his lips to Ty’s collarbone.

“Me too,” He said softly, rubbing small circles over Ty’s stomach still. Ty closed his eyes, smiling a little and turned to press his lips to Zane’s curly hair. He reached for Zane’s moving hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing.

“I love you, Zane,” He whispered and Zane maneuvered so he was resting on his side, looking down at Ty. He smiled, leaning down to take Ty’s lips. Since Evie came home, she’d been sleeping between them (a habit they would need to break before it became impossible for her to sleep alone), and this was the first night they were able to exhaust her enough that they could sleep in a bed alone.

Ty groaned, pulling Zane on top of him, arching up into him and letting his hands roam down his back. He could have weeped with how good he felt and much he needed him. But small noises were picking up volume from the corner of the room and they both froze.

Zane cursed, sighing and burying his face in Ty’s neck. His body went lax on top of Ty’s and Ty arched his neck over Zane’s shoulder to peer over at the pack-n-play.

“Shhh, baby girl,” He murmured. The noises began to quiet again and final sigh before silence. Ty lowered his head and closed his eyes.

“We have got to figure this little issue out,” Ty smirked quietly. Zane nodded against his shoulder and huffed.

“It’s been a whole week. That’s the longest we’ve gone since you got back from deployment,” He said, a little amused. He rolled off him and stared back up at the ceiling.

“Wanna take the baby monitor and go neck in the car?” Ty grinned, looking sharply at his husband.

“Um, yes,” Zane cackled, rolling out of the bed and grabbing the monitor, racing Ty out of the room.

They cram into the backseat, quickly undoing Evie’s car seat and shoving it into the front. They laugh giddily, this being the first time in a week since they’ve been able to do anything more than kiss and run their hands over one another longingly.  

“God, I missed you,” Ty breathes, pushing Zane down on his back over the bench. He climbed over him, straddling his hips and leaned down to capture his lips. Zane hummed into his kiss, running his hands over his sides and bucking up to grind against Ty wantonly. They moan together, lips meeting, teeth colliding clumsily.

“Ty, I need you, baby,” Zane groaned, breaking their kiss. Ty reached down to push at his boxers, needing to feel Zane against him. He helped Zane rid himself of his boxers as well and Zane growled.

“Fuck we forgot the damn lube,” He complained but Ty smirked in the dark, pressing a kiss to Zane’s bare chest.

“Mmmm, such little faith,” He said and reached to the front of the cab to pop open the glove compartment. He retrieved the small bottle of lube and replaced his position over Zane.

“Why is that in your car?” Zane laughed, taking it from him and popping the top while grinding up so their cocks rubbed together gloriously.

“Just in case,” Ty gasped, tilting his head back and rubbing his ass over Zane’s length.

“Just in case what?” Zane moans, closing his eyes and reveling in the feel of his husband. God he needed this.

“Jesus Zane, just in case this happened. Now shut up and get in me, Daddy,” He said, lifting himself a little so Zane could run his slick fingers over his tense muscles.

“Don’t call me that,” Zane laughed and Ty smirked at him, leaning down to take his lips as he reached down to guide Zane inside him. He slowly sat back on him, taking him fully after a moment. They sat for a moment, motionless, loving, needing the feeling of each other.

“Fuck,” Zane groaned, pushing up and Ty moaned, rising a little to begin a rhythm, but his head hit the car ceiling.

“Shit, hang on,” He cursed, putting his hands on Zane’s chest to steady himself. He moved a little, readjusting and almost crying with the torturous feeling of Zane moving inside him.

“Ty, what the fuck are you doing,” Zane growled, squinting in the dark and needing Ty to move before he exploded in more ways than one.

“I can’t ride you in here, man,” Ty grumbled, moving off Zane and whimpering from the loss of him.

“Shit,” Zane sat up, needing to duck his head a little and moved to let Ty lay his back on the bench and he hovered over him. Zane moved Ty’s knees so they were resting on his shoulders and he lined himself up again, entering him. His lips hovered over Ty’s as he seated himself and he felt the gust of breath on his lips that he knew he would feel.

“Baby,” Ty murmured, lifting his arms to wrap around Zane’s neck and hold his face close so he could kiss him. Zane began to move, still moving his lips over Ty’s and quickly picked up his rhythm, getting lost in his husband.

“Jesus, you feel so fucking good,” Zane groaned, needing to pull his face away to breath and Ty nodded, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Zane picked up speed and soon Ty’s head was slamming over and over again against the side of the car.

“Shit, slow down!” Ty cried, moving his neck so his head wouldn’t hit so hard.

“Dammit,” Zane frowned, stopping his movements to adjust them farther from the edge. He slipped out momentarily, cursing at the cold that hit his skin.

“No, no, no, no, don’t stop!” Ty whined, reaching for Zane’s ass and trying to pull him back.

“Stop moving,” Zane commanded, swatting Ty’s hands away and Ty lifted his hands up, trying to find purchase somewhere other than skin.

“Hurry!” Ty moaned, glaring.

“I’m trying!” Zane shot back, trying to line himself back up.

“Zane!” Ty commanded and Zane almost shouted, not able to sheath himself again from the angle.

“Fuck it,” He said angrily, pulling away completely and Ty almost sobbed with the loss of contact before he felt Zane’s mouth on him.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” He moaned, closing his eyes and sliding his fingers through Zane’s curls and gripping hard as Zane took him completely. His head bounced and Ty could have cried. Zane used his index to enter him and he crooked it just right and Ty was cumming so hard he saw stars.

Zane moaned, letting the vibration in his throat move against Ty’s sensitive cock and he swallowed every last drop before popping off, rearing up and sheathing himself quick and hard inside Ty. He pounded into him and all Ty could do was wrap his legs around him and bite into Zane’s neck, whispering encouragements into his ear to lead him on.

“Come on, baby, fill me up,” He growled and Zane cried out, burying his face in Ty’s neck, stuttering his thrusts as his orgasm tore through him.

They laid there, sweaty and exhausted, Ty’s hands running over his back and through the curls of his hair.

“Damn,” He whispered, pressing his lips to the side of Zane’s head.

Zane grunted. They fell asleep like that, one of Ty’s legs peeking into the front seat, one pushed against the back window of the mustang, and Zane curled into him like a cat.

~*~

She wakes in a panic, her eyes flying open and her skin screaming. She tries to calm her breaths and calm her heart, the beat of it echoing in shrill beeps from a monitor.

The room is dark and cold and the smell of alcohol is nauseating. Her left side stings and she winces when she attempts to move. Her head is pounding and her body is weak but she forces herself to move. She carefully removes herself from her IV and finds a clipboard on the end of the bed.

Jane Doe has 2nd degree burns over her neck and arms, impact bruising on her left side, minor concussion and a scaphoid fracture. Nothing she couldn’t deal with.

She drops the clipboard to the bed and quickly peers out into the hall. It’s around 3am and the halls are empty, the nurses station on the other side of the floor. She quickly moves, back against the wall and finds a break room. She changes into some scrubs that are sitting folded on the shelf near the door and steals a pair of tennis shoes from a locker. Once satisfied with her appearance, she exits the room. And the building.

~*~

Ty wakes with a start, his skin clammy and his neck aching. He blinks up at the ceiling of the car and swallows rapidly, realizing they were still in the mustang. Naked.

And someone was knocking on the window.

“Shit, Zane, fuck,” He cursed, slapping his hands against Zane’s naked back. His husband stirred on top of him, turning his face into Ty’s neck but then hearing the knocking as well and rising rapidly, hitting his head with a thunk.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Zane growled, not exactly sure what to do so he huffs and drops back down to Ty and looks over his shoulder to where Ty was looking. Horrified.

Livi was bent in the window, smiling wide and waving. She was shaking her head and laughing and Zane dropped his head back down to Ty’s neck.

“Sorry, I was out for my run!” She explained through the cracked window. “It’s around seven, figured you’d wanna head back in and get decent before someone like Mara found ya! Embarrassing!!” She sang, her smile still plastered over her face.

“Livi,” Ty warned, shaking his head but laughing a little.

“Right! Well, I’ll make sure the route to your room is clear!” She said, standing back up to her full height and turning to rush back to the house. “Oh!” She stopped, turning back to the car and Ty raised a questioning eyebrow.

“What?” He laughed because Zane tensed on top of him, still exposed.

“Nice gluteus maximus Garrett! Very nice!!” She gave a thumbs up before running inside.

“Did she just complement your ass and run off?”

“Yes, and don’t give me that look we need to get  half way decent and get back inside. Preferably before half the neighborhood sees us.” Zane said trying and failing to find his boxers somewhere on the car floor.

They managed to be stealthy about getting back in, the rest of the house was still calm this early in the morning and the only sounds were of Livi showering and the creaking of the old house’s bones.

“Shit, the monitor died sometime last night,” Ty mumbled to Zane as they climbed the stairs. Zane’s heart stuttered and he picked up his pace, rushing to the door of Ty’s room and pushing inside.

The pack-n-play was empty.

“No,” Ty gasped, turning around and began opening doors.

“Ty, calm down,” Zane whispered, grabbing him by the arm and trying to stop him from tearing the house apart. He was panicking too but sending the whole family on a rampage would not help anything.

“Zane, she’s fucking gone and we should have been with her!” Ty hissed, turning and rushing down the stairs, rushing through every room of the house.

“What’s going on?” Deuce asked, coming out of his room and looking at Zane confused.

“Evie is gone,” He breathed, eyes wild and followed his husband down the stairs and towards the back of the house to where he disappeared.

It’s there that he finds him glaring at Chester with his damn shovel and an infant balancing on the end of it.

“Chester,” Zane breaths and Ty snatches a gleeful Evie away and clutches her to his chest.

“Heard her blubberin nonsense up in that room for a good hour,” Chester sniffs, wagging his finger at them. “If ya’ll would stop thinkin with yer genitals-”

“Okay!” Ty groaned, rushing out of the room.

“Thank you, Chester,” Zane mumbled, nodding at him and leaving him cackling in his room.

“Ok next time we’re bribing Kelly to babysit while we take a weekend off somewhere deal?” Ty asked when they closed the door to Ty’s room. He held Evie close and kissed her hair while she reached up to play with his chin. He smiled, blowing kisses against her cheek.

“Deal.” Zane agree, grabbing some clean clothes from their bag.

When they made their way down, the found the kitchen empty, save for Mara and Livi.

“Oh look who finally decided to join us.” Mara joked as they walked in after showering and getting ready for the day. The kitchen was surprisingly calm and food free.

“Sorry, Ma.” Ty said trying to look apologetic and handing off his daughter to his eager mother. The little girl clutched to Mara excitedly and pressed her wet mouth to her cheek for a drooly kiss and Mara laughed gleefully.

“It’s hard to not forgive you when this little precious thing is giving me so much love,” She cooed, smiling into Evie’s face.

“She’s pretty amazing, huh?” Ty smiled, brushing his fingers against Zane’s absently. Zane smiled, hooking their fingers.

“I’m gonna steal her,” Mara announced, swinging out of the kitchen and out into the yard with her new granddaughter. “We’re getting breakfast in town, I need to show her off!” She called back at them and Ty smiled, shaking his head.

“She’s gonna be the next princess of West Virginia,” Zane sighed, sitting down at the table while Ty poured them some coffee.

“And Baltimore, let’s be real, here,” He sighed, taking a seat at the table beside his husband. He reached for Zane’s hand and laced their fingers, closing his eyes in contentment. This was nice. Being here like this.

“I love you,” Zane said softly, pressing his lips to Ty’s hair and resting there and Ty nodded, smiling a little.

“You comin?” Deuce wondered, poking his head into the kitchen and they stood to leave for breakfast.

The diner was full when they got there, being Saturday morning. Mara greeted almost everyone, knowing them from around town and such. While everyone else sat and ordered their drinks, she made a round of the room, showing off a smiling Evie.

“She wasn’t this excited for Amelia,” Deuce muttered, glaring at Mara.

“Course she was,” Earl muttered, looking down at his menu. “Beaumont's just her favorite,” He added and Livi burst into laughter, Amelia following automatically when her mother started.

“He’s kidding,” Ty said when Deuce turned his glare at him, but then he turned to his husband and winked, making Zane chuckle.

Eventually, Mara took a seat between Earl and Ty, bouncing a giggling Evie on her knee. When their food arrived, Ty attempted to give her pieces of his eggs, but she was only interested in Amelia’s syrup smother pancakes.

“Let her have some sweets, Tyler,” Mara batted at his hand and Ty sighed.

“Ma, we don’t even know if she’s good with solids, yet,” He argued, taking Evie from Mara. The little girl fussed a little, but settled against Ty’s chest and reached for Zane’s fruit bowl.

“I think she’s good on solids, boy,” Earl said, eating his steak. “Girl doesn’t reach like that for things she don’t know,” He added, spearing a piece of Amelia’s pancakes onto his fork and reaching it across the table to Evie, who took it eagerly.

“Yes sir,” He muttered, pressing his nose to her hair as she gnawed on the pancake.

“Mara! Is this your new grandchild I’ve been hearin’ about?” A feminine voice called out from behind them and they turned to her. She wasn’t very old, maybe around Zane’s age, maybe older. She had black hair, tits to her chin, and crows feet for days.

“Rhonda,” Mara said a little too enthusiastically, turning away from her to her original position and eating her eggs. “Yes, this is Evelyn, Ty’s daughter,” She introduced and Ty smiled awkwardly, letting the exuberant lady coo at the baby. Evie stared at her with caution before lifting her soggy pancake and slapping it against Rhonda’s cheek.

“Shit,” Zane grunted, reaching for Evie as Ty stifled his laughter and reached for a napkin.

“Sorry about that,” Ty said, letting the woman clean her own face. She nodded, a bit miffed and looked around the table.

“I’m assuming you’re the mother?” She nodded at Livi and Livi snorted, shaking her head.

“She’s adopted,” Ty answered, nodding to Zane. Zane smiled a little, using his free hand to hold Ty’s.

Rhonda stared at their hands for a moment, confused.

“They’re fuckin gay, you old bird,” Chester clipped and Rhonda looked at him appalled before glaring a bit and looking at Evie.

“You are…?” She started a little disgusted and Ty went cold. He almost snapped at her before he was interrupted by Mara.

“Fuck off, Rhonda,” She said and everyone at the table and near them stopped to look at her in surprise. Even Earl.

Rhonda stared wide eyed for a moment huffing and nodding at Ty and Zane before turning on her heel to go back to her own table.

“Mom,” Ty snorted, turning back to the table and Zane smiled, letting Evie reach for his pineapple.

“Old coot always pissed me off at prayer group,” She muttered and sipped her tea with a satisfied smile.

“Prayer group, jesus,” Ty laughed, shaking his head.

“Eat your pancakes, Tyler,” She commanded and smiled over at Evie, making the baby giggle and squirm in Zane’s lap, dropping the slobbery pineapple on Zane’s thigh.

~*~

By the end of the weekend, they had made plans to come back and do a family portrait and to celebrate Evie by inviting the entire family and then some before the summer ended. Mara had packed their car to the brim with pies and left overs that they barely had room for their luggage and the car seat, but they made it work.

An hour or so into the drive, Evie stirred in her sleep, muttering out a few stray syllables that sounded like “sm ya.”

Ty looked at her curiously for a second.

“Everything ok back there?” Zane asked glancing back.

“Sure, just thought she might have said something.” Ty said putting stray thoughts aside, kids made weird noises all the time learning to speak.

“Well it sure as fuck wasn’t “Daddy” so you’re gonna have to keep trying.” Zane teased, reaching to hold Ty’s hand as they drove home.

In the haze of all the domestic bliss the week seems to fly by without them noticing. It’s almost funny how easily Evie falls into their lives and how they learn to all function together. For the first few days they keep her all to themselves, just celebrating as a small family. Ty’s worries that she might be allergic to the cats proved false, in fact they took to Evie like they were welcoming a new kitten into their ranks.

“Looks like you’ve been replaced.” Zane tells him watching the three of them nap in the living room surrounded by pillows.

“Which means you’ve moved even further down the pole, you’re like their fourth favorite now.” Ty tells him taking his phone out to snap a picture.

“Fourth after who?” Zane asked him.

“The one nice lady that comes in on the weekends, you know always wears weird earrings.”

“Ahh, I didn’t realize the cats put her above me.” Zane said jokingly.

“Oh this is too cute, I’m sending this to the guys.” Ty said showing Zane the picture, then pausing for a moment like he remembered something important.

“Babe?”

“We haven’t told anyone yet other than family,” He realized a little surprised.

“Well we have been pretty preoccupied.” Zane said. “Go call them.”

“I hadn’t realized we hadn’t done that yet.” Ty said turning to look at their daughter. “Hear that princess? You got both your dads so preoccupied they forgot the world around them.”

“We should take her up to Boston sometime, spend the weekend on the boat,” Zane said as Ty got up with his phone.

Nick’s phone rang just as he walked into the kitchen of his boat. Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” filled the room in a filtered tone.

“Nice ringtone.” Kelly commented not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. “I would have personally gone with something classier, like The Bee Gees or The Pina Colada song.”

“It’s an inside joke.” Nick says out of reflex.

“Yeah I know I was there, dude.” Kelly reminds him.

“Drunk off your sweet ass doesn't really count.” Nick says accepting the call. “What’s up, Six?”

“Hey um... you got a minute?” Ty asks him almost hesitant.

“Sure, I’m guessing this isn’t just a social call?”

“Umm yes and no?” Ty says vaguely.

“Dude that makes no sense.”

“Ok remember a while back when I said Zane and I were looking to adopt and we needed credentials, and people to vouch for us?”

“Yeah, what did you- Holy shit, you guys finally got a call back didn’t you?” Nick said quickly putting the story together.

“Yeah, actually they called a week ago. . . Why are you laughing?” Ty asked hearing Nick begin to laugh under his breath over the line, the kind of laugh that threatened to spill over and become full out crying laugher.

“Sorry but do you remember when you called me about that?” Nick asked trying to regain composure.

“I think so, what was it like last August or something like that, right?” Ty said thinking back.

“Try exactly nine months ago.” Nick said barely holding laughter back. “Glad to hear the you had a nice, easy pregnancy. I feel bad for not getting the expectant mother a baby shower gift,” He said then broke down laughing.

“Hilarious O, seriously hilllllarious.” Ty said, but he was smiling on the other end.

“Hey Ty?” Kelly’s voice asked over the phone, “Sorry, he’s pretty much useless right now laughing over his own joke.”  

Nick gave him a weak “Fuck you” and fell back into a chair still laughing.

“So what’s this I hear about you two adopting?” Kelly inquired.

“We’ve been trying for months-

“You are aware that two dudes can’t make a baby right?” Kelly said “Sorry to break it to you this way.”

“We have a daughter!” Ty finally said in a rush, either ignoring Kelly’s joke or simply spilling the news because he was too happy to hold it in any longer.

It took Kelly a beat to catch up with what Ty just said.

“You guys brought her home already? How old is she? What’s her name? Please tell me you guys don’t do family names for the girls no offense but they’re kinda weird. Oh! I so called dibs on being Godfather like forever ago!” Kelly rushed out.  Ty laughed for a moment on the other end, a very happy and carefree sound.

“Yeah we brought Evie home, and yeah we picked a family name.” Ty said. “ If you want to be the Godfather, we’d be honored but you’re probably gonna have to fight my brother for it.”

“When do I get to see my Godchild?” Kelly demanded before  turning to Nick. “Sorry dude you were too busy laughing and missed out on Godparent status.” Which shut Nick up pretty quickly.

“We’re still getting everything settled but we’ll let you guys know, you’re gonna love her.”

After he hung up with Kelly, Nick trying to wrestle the phone back from him in vain, he punched in Owen’s number. He got treated to essentially the same joke as Nick threw at him before. God his friends needed a better sense of humor. Then Owen completely blew him out of the water.

“Ty man look I know I haven’t always been the most supportive, shit I’ve been a downright asshole. . .”

“Johns seriousl-”

“No let me say this, I was an absolute prick to you when you came out, there was no need for it and I just wanna say I’m really happy it’s all working out for you man.”  Owen said voice quieter and kinder than it had been moments before.

“I- thanks.” Ty paused surprised at how good it felt to hear it. “You gonna come down to visit sometime then?”

“You better believe it, figures out of all of us you’d get to be a dad first.” Owen told him then bade both him and Zane goodbye.

“Ty?”  Zane asks coming into the room.

“Hey is she asleep?” he asked his husband.

“Yeah, she’s gonna have to learn to sleep apart from us eventually, I figure this is a good start.” Zane said then saw the phone in Ty’s hand and asked. “You coming to bed soon?”

“Yeah just got one more phone call left.” Ty said tilting his head up invitingly.

Zane obliged and kissed him, slow and deep, taking his time until they absolutely had to break for air. It was the kind of kiss that had Ty chasing Zane’s lips for another.

“I’ll be waiting.” Zane told him as he walked out, with just the trace of a smirk and mischief playing in his dark eyes.

It took Ty a moment to remember what he was suppose to be doing. He figured he could always call Deuce later but there was no getting around calling Digger. If Kelly hadn’t already texted him he’d probably knew there was something going on anyway. He had a strange way of knowing these kinds of things and if Ty put off letting him know then he’d have to deal with the aftermath.

Last time it involved a prank that nearly had their house in Jacksonville in flames, again.

Digger picked up after the first ring, clearly he’d been expecting the call. “Congratulations.” he said by way of greeting. you could practically hear him grinning.

“I take it Abbot couldn’t keep his mouth shut then?” Ty asked almost unphased.

“Nah man, my mama said you had big news to share.” Digger informed him then added. “And you fucking called Doc before you called me?”

“No I called Nick but the bastard couldn’t stop laughing over a stupid joke so Doc had to take over.” Ty told him.

Digger considered this then said. “Sounds ‘bout right. So share this big news with me brotha.”

“What your mama didn’t tell you you’re an uncle?” Ty shot back at him knowing he’d enjoy that.

“Are you serious?!” Digger laughed. “Oh man are you serious this is amazing! ‘Bout damn time too!”

“I know man you should come up here later this summer we’ll celebrate it all properly and you can meet her.”

“Her?” Digger echoed. “Oh dude this is just fantastic what’s the little princess’s name?”

“Evie. We named her Evie.” Ty said for the third time than night, still euphoric at sharing the news.

“Little princess is gonna need some present when I get up there.”

“Dear God remember she’s only one.”

“So does that mean cherry bombs are totally out?” Digger asked seriously.

“Yes.”  Ty said considering the possibility. “ No cherry bombs, no explosives let’s start there. Nothing sharp, nothing poisonous and no voodoo dolls.”

“Man you sure know how to ruin a kids day.” Digger joked. “I’ll think of something he promised.”

“And nothing alive!” Ty added quickly.

“Killjoy.” Digger told him.

“Yeah, yeah whatever man she’s one!” Ty reminded him. “Tell Missouri I said hello.”

“Will do.” Digger said in a sort of far away voice that usually meant he was planning something that involved lots of gunpowder or C4. Then hung up leaving Ty a little concerned.

Before heading upstairs to their room, Ty made sure the back door was locked and the lights were off. He climbed the stairs silently, making sure not to make any noise in case it woke up Evie. When he passed her door, he peaked into the cracked door of her room and smiled at her sleeping soundly in her crib. She must have been sucking on her fingers again because her hand was resting halfway to her mouth in the assumed position. They’d need to break her of that habit as well or they’d be looking at braces in a few years.

He sighed contently and closed her door to a small crack. He slid his hands into the pockets of his pajama bottoms and headed for his and Zane’s room. Zane was sitting up in their bed with his glasses on, staring down at a new book with the lamp on over his shoulder. Ty stopped in the doorway, smiling a little and tilting his head. The gray in his temples was getting more pronounced against the black curls and the lines in his face were becoming deeper. But Ty loved all of it. So much that his chest tightened at the sight of him and it amazed Ty that he was still feeling like this after so long.

“You gonna come to bed or are you gonna just stand there all night?” Zane wondered without looking up from his book and Ty chuckled, stepping into the room and crawling up the bed to Zane. He pushed the book away, making Zane look at him and straddled his lap.

“Your glasses are so cute,” Ty teased, pressing his lips to Zane’s forehead and Zane laughed, shaking his head.

“I’m getting old,” He said and Ty shook his head, kissing the corner of Zane’s lips.

“I’m going to start calling you Fine Wine,” He said and Zane rolled his eyes.

“Whatever works for you Meow Mix.”

“Do you really need to keep using that nickname, I mean, it’s been like five years,” Ty laughed, tangling both his hands in Zane’s curls.

“I could start calling you Daddy,” He offered and Ty thought about it.

“But that’s your nickname.”

“I thought you wanted to be daddy,” Zane shook his head.

“I think it fits you more. I’ll give it up. I’ll be papa,” He said, running his hand down Zane’s cheek.

“We’ll let her decide,” Zane said, gazing at Ty with those deep eyes that Ty loved so much. The ones that saw right through him and loved him to the end of the world.

“God I love you,” Ty whispered. Zane smiled softly, leaning his nose to Ty’s cheek and nuzzling there.

“Wanna show me how much?” He asked and Ty smirked wickedly.

“Hell yeah.”

~*~

“Where is she?” He demanded. He’d been chasing up and down Georgia for days and he was getting nothing, but he tracked her to DC. After escaping the hospital he had been held at for burns and bruising, he hit the road for information. This was his final possible source. The police officers that had picked the child up weren’t much of a help, but they brought him here. Now they were laying in pieces on the side of I-285.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but unless you have proof that you are her father and can pass all the required-"

“Shut up,” He hissed, lifting his glock to point between her eyes. “I asked you nicely. Give me her file,” He stated again and she stuttered, shaking her head helplessly. He gritted his teeth and wound back to crack his gunned hand against her cheek. He heard a satisfying crunch as blood shot from her nose. She cried out, falling to the floor.

“Please,” She whimpered and he stepping around the desk to see her. He crouched down, tilting his head.

“Stupid woman. Give me her file and I will leave you alive,” He tried reasoning, knowing full well that he wouldn’t do so.

She stared up at him, her mind going to the precious baby this man wanted information on. The shy little thing that seemed to warm up to her new parents quite quickly. She realized that if this man were to find them, not only would he kill the men that had adopted her, but who knows what he would do to the child. That poor child that probably had already endured enough from this man at such a young age. Who would continue to abuse, if not kill her.

She looked up at the man with the gun again, the taste of blood on her tongue and the burn of bruising on her cheek. She swallowed, knowing he would not let her live either way.

“You may as well kill me because there is no way you will get to her through me. Go to he-” The bullet passed through her head cleanly. He sighed, standing as her body thunked against the floor, still and heavy.

He turned his back on her to her file cabinet. He searched the files for a few minutes, the files marked by date and name. He spotted a file with a picture poking out, rich red hair curling at the edges.

“Ach, Evelyn?” He shook his head at the name. Terrible name.

He walked over to the desk and made sure to take photos of all the information he would need and then turned to exit the office. On his way out, he stepped over the body of the secretary that was splayed in the hallway and exited the building quietly.

~*~

It’s a slow afternoon, the kind of day where the weather draws more people out into public parks and the docks to enjoy the first promising rays of late spring sun, so there’s not as many people actually stopping in. The cats are sunning themselves bellies up on a patch of carpet near the storefront window.

Zane decides that he may as well put out the new books now while it’s quiet, no sense in wasting time, he’ll have to do it sooner or later.

He’s pulling out a few of the hardbacks for the front display when the little bell over the front door chimes.

“I’ll be with you in a moment!” he calls leaving the books in their boxes. There’s a second chime, this time accompanied by familiar voices.

“Oh Zane dear there you are.” Mrs. Alistair says leading her husband slowly to the counter.  He had lost his sight years earlier and now relied on his wife or his cane to get around the store. He has a service dog as well but they learned the first time around the cats made it difficult for that arrangement to work. Ever since then Zane had taken to stocking several audiobooks and books in braille for the man, though he claimed it was just part of a regular bookstore.

“So how did we like our last book?” Zane asked them.

“Oh it was wonderful! James and I stayed up late to finish it together!” She started off clearly thrilled that Zane had asked. By the time they had left with two new books to enjoy Zane had completely forgotten there was someone else in the store.  Out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of red. In the opposite corner a woman was browsing the shelves slowly.  

“Can I help you?” he asked about to walk over to her.

She glanced up for a moment, studying him, then shook her head with a small smile and went back to browsing.

“Let me know if you need help finding something!” he said turning back to the back room where the new shipment was sitting opened. Something about her looked familiar, perhaps she had been here before.

From the other end of the store She watched him as he headed back. There was something good about him, something she had never seen in her child’s father. This man had a good heart, he cared for the people around him, though she had not intended to stay here as long as she had it had given her a bit of peace of mind, the little one was safe here for now.

As she left she could have sworn she felt eyes on her, you did not live a  life like her’s without  developing that sense. A shiver ran straight down her spine, it could not be him, that she was sure of, he was chasing empty leads two states away. Still she took the long way back to her temporary place, old habits were hard to break.

Ty had walked past the store on his way to grab one of Evie’s books from down on the back porch where they had been sitting before when he saw her leave. Something in the way she carried herself reminded him of Clancy when she was doing undercover surveillance, walking much too quietly, and ducking into the nearest shadows like she could feel Ty’s eyes following her.  

Zane would have probably spent more time reflecting on the strange encounter if the door to the store hadn’t rung again, this time with a more familiar face.

Clancy marched in sans her usual work attire and walked straight up to Zane.

“Hey Clancy.”

“So what’s this urgent thing you summoned me here for?” she asked by way of greeting. The first few weeks after he and Ty had both quit the FBI after Miami Clancy had taken to showing up randomly and making sure everything was ok, like a mother hen. Then Ty asked her to cat-sit for a weekend and came back to a pissed off cat fur covered friend and two very smug kittens.

“I didn’t?” Zane asked more than answered. for a moment they just stared at eachother confused.

“Ty!” They both yelled once they figured out what was going on.

Ty peeked past the doorframe with a shit eating grin that he didn’t even try to mask.

“Oh Clancy what brings you here?” he asked innocently.

“Tyler get your butt out here so I can kick it properly.” Clancy said still standing by Zane looking marginally less pissed than the time he made  her cat-sit.

“Oh we’re back to Tyler now?” he asked. “So am I forgiven?” Ty asked still standing at a weird angle by the door.

“Your name is still “Traitor” in my phone.” she said then narrowed her eyes at him. “What the hell are you hiding?”

“Oh.” Zane muttered then let out a little huff of a laugh when he realized what was about to happen.

“Don’t you “oh” me, you’re about to be “traitor #2”.” She said without any venom in her voice.

“Ok just wait a minute before you kick his ass ok?” Zane told her, wishing he had a way to record what was about to happen.

She shot him a look that warned that pranks would not be tolerated at any level, but Zane just shook his head.

“Clancy meet the newest addition to our family.” Zane said as Ty walked out.

“If it’s another cat I swe-OHmy goodness!”

“Say “hi” to auntie Clancy, Evie.” Ty said walking over to her with the little girl in his arms.

“Hey sweetie.” Clancy said in a soft motherly tone.

Evie reached out with one tiny hand reaching for Clancy’s strawberry blonde hair.

“Wanna hold her?” Ty asked seeing what Evie was doing.

“Come here princessa.” Clancy said scooping her out of Ty’s arms.

“Looks like you’re forgiven.” Zane told Ty as they watched their daughter laugh at the ridiculous faces Clancy was making at her.

“God I hope so.” Ty laughed saying the words loud enough for Clancy to hear. She just looked at him and rolled her eyes before turning back to the little girl she was entertaining.

Later in the night, they’re sitting in the living room after Zane put Evie to bed, the tv is on the the background but nobody's really watching.

“Thank you guys for inviting me over. . . and yes Grady you’re forgiven for your awful little monsters.” Clancy says while eying the cats that are sprawled over Ty’s lap.

Ty’s about to answer when his phone goes off, it’s not the most annoying ringtone bit it makes the overgrown kittens in his lap give off a round of hisses.

“This is Grady.” he answers trying to stand without throwing the cats off.

Zane feels his phone buzz as well, just for a moment like someone is leaving a message but Clancy’s reaction to something on the forgotten TV get his attention.

“Oh Christ there’s been another one.” she whispers.

The volume is muted but the headline is clear on the screen and there’s an uneasy feeling settling on all the occupants of the room.

“Third body found.” Beneath that the words scrolled with details, name age job and a request for public help and funeral arrangements. Zane misses all of it because right then they choose to show a picture of the victim, in the prime of life and his blood is ice in his veins. Not even a week ago he’d seen that face and now she was gone.

“Christ what kind of bastard goes after social services workers?” Clancy wondered aloud.

“Zane.” Ty walked back into the room looking grim.

“I know.”

The TV screen still showed the picture of Kit Wells, the young woman who had brought Evie into their lives, gone at age 34.

“Clancy any chance you could do us a little favor?” Zane asked.

She just nodded sensing that there was something bigger at play here.

“We need the ballistics from that scene, it might have a tie in with the bodies from Atlanta.” Ty said.

“Are we getting called in?” Zane asked.

“Not yet but the boss man wants us ready for the possibility.” Ty said throwing his phone down on the couch. Something about this felt off.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Clancy said looking at her own phone with a grimace. “Ugh of course they need me down at the office now of all times.”

“Well that’s what you get for being the new Special Agent in Charge.” Ty said with an attempt at humor.

“Ha ha.” Clancy said grabbing her jacket from the arm rest she left it on. “I’ll call you two when if I get a hit on the ballistics, stay safe alright?”

“Yeah you too, hold on let me at least walk you out.” Zane said getting up with her and walking her to the front door.

When he comes back he finds Ty in Evie’s room, sitting on the floor by her crib, just watching her.

“Something about this feels off,” He states, watching her.

“Bad vibes in our area off or our kind of trouble off?” Zane asks knowing the answer.

“Both.” Ty says. Truthfully it was terrifying to think that this could in someway be connected to them. With everything that had already happened in their lives it seemed both unfair that another storm was coming their way and a little inevitable as well.

“I think I’d feel a bit better if she slept in our room tonight.” Zane said knowing that it would make them both less anxious to have her right there with them.

Ty nodded and got up carefully taking her out of her crib so he wouldn’t wake her.

“I’m driving up to D.C tomorrow.” Ty says without looking away from her. Zane nodded, resting his hand Ty’s shoulder.


	3. Fear

Ty woke up early the following morning, slipping out of bed soundlessly and getting out his suit he used for cases. He showered slowly and got ready, dread settling on his chest like stone.

There had to be a connection. First all those murders in Atlanta, where Evie had been found, then the social worker? There was no way it wasn’t connected. The agency had no information on her past and this was scaring the hell out of him. He finally had his family and there was no fucking way he would let someone take that away from him.

Ty sighed, pushing his hair back. It’s getting long and he’d need a cut soon. He stared at his reflection and straightened his tie. He was almost scared to learn what he already knew.

“Ty?” He heard from the door and he turned to find Zane standing in the doorframe, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Ty swallowed, feeling a burn behind his eyes and nausea in his throat. He stepped away from the sink and silently walked into Zane’s arms. Zane wrapped him up tightly, burying his face in Ty’s neck. They held each other for a long time, clutching at one another and needing to feel each other. They didn’t part until they heard the restless murmurs from the bed and they reluctantly pulled away.

“Call me when you get to DC,’ Zane told him, letting his fingers catch Ty’s.

“I’m scared,” Ty said, and Zane nodded, leaning in to press his lips to Ty’s.

“Me too, baby,” He murmured and Ty huffed, reaching up a hand to grip Zane’s neck before he stepped around him and headed to the bed.

Evie was rubbing at her face restlessly when Ty approached her. He leaned down to pick her up and he held her to his chest as she woke. She clutched at him, murmuring softly and laying her head on his shoulder sleepily. Zane watched them and rubbed a hand over his mouth. He wanted to go to DC with him, but he needed to stay here. He needed to make sure she was safe.

“I’ll call Clancy,” He said softly, leaving them in the room. Ty nodded, sitting down on the bed and whispering playfully to Evie.

“You keep your daddy safe today alright? He’s probably gonna be pacing around that bookstore of his all morning so I need you to make the biggest mess ever to keep him busy ok princess?” He whispered trying to assure them both it was just another day and another boring drive to D.C

She looked up at him with wide curious eyes then brought her tiny hand up to his cheek in a little pat like she was trying to comfort him. “Hey don’t make your old man cry before he’s even left the house ok? Dad’s got a reputation to uphold here” Ty said feeling like maybe tears weren’t too far off.

“No luck with Clancy she’s not picking up her cell, though it’s still fairly early.” Zane said walking back in and tossing his phone onto the desk by the door.

“Ready to go?” he asked after a moment, there was no point in drawing it out any longer the quicker Ty made the trek up to DC the quicker he’d be home with information.

“Yeah let’s get this over with.” Ty said carrying Evie over to Zane and handing her over to him.

“Don’t forget our little agreement missy.” He said leaving a kiss on her forehead.

~*~

The drive up to the DC office usually passed him by, it only took an hour in good traffic if you knew where to avoid the tourists and road work. Today it seemed to drag on too long and pass with frightening quickness as he tossed between inpatients and worry. What the hell were the odds this was all connected back to them anyway, did they just have that kind of shit luck or was he just overthinking it all.

He threw the car in park in the first spot available at the DC branch building and dug around for his key and id cards before making his way in.

The cool office building filled with suits that usually made him grimace in distaste was like a barrier, for a moment it felt just like another work day at the office.

“Agent Grady.” The woman at the desk greeted as he walked up to her. “What are we in for today, the director didn’t say he was calling you in.”

“Case work.” Ty told her. “I called in last night, forensics said they had some things for me to look at.”

She typed something in then told him. “Lower level 2, I’ll have someone get you a key to the right evidence locker.”

“Thanks.” he said already walking away.

His key card had been reprogrammed to give him full building access, still this was the first time he was going down to the lower level labs.

“Lower Level Two - Forensics” the automated elevator voice announced as the doors opened.

He made his way down the hall where a  younger agent was waiting for him. “The legend himself.” she said.

“Didn’t realize I was famous” He said with just a hint of humor, she reminded him of his cousin Emma for some reason.

“More like infamous at this point, just don’t let the trainees see you they’ll either shit themselves in fear or ask for autographs.” She said opening one of the evidence storage rooms.

“There we are, don’t forget to fill  out the chain of command forms in these things, and just close the door behind you when you’re done it’ll auto lock.” she said handing him a clipboard with a stack of forms for the evidence and leaving him in the doorway.

There were boxes of things, all labeled bagged and sealed up, most were covered in dried blood. with a grimace he pulled out the crime scene photos to examine first. They did nothing to help the feeling of unease growing inside of him.  The crime scene was a mess, whatever had happened didn’t happen quickly, the mess proved that much. He threw  the photos back in their envelope as his phone began to buzz in his pocket. Looks like the Bureau basement had cell reception after all.

“This is Grady.” He said opening the next box.

“Ty it’s Clancy, we got the ballistics back.” She said sounding professional, which worried him.

“Go on.” he told her picking up a file that had soaked up a fair amount of blood, but not as much as the rest, it must have been on top of the pile. He flipped it over as best as he could within the evidence bag and froze, his own blood turning to ice as Clancy’s voice distantly confirmed what he just realized.

“Ty it’s the same person, who ever did this might even be-” Clancy’s call came to an abrupt end as Ty tossed the file back in the box and dialed Zane’s number before he even made it out the evidence room door.

“Come on, come on c’mon pick up!” he hissed frustrated at the phone each time he was met with the dial tone instead of Zane’s voice.

Images of what could have happened, the worst things that could possible have happened kept trying to creep up and take over his mind. Instead he jumped into his car and tore out of the parking lot with a turn sharp enough to leave tire marks.

This time around, despite his hectic driving and even resorting to taking side roads and CIA special privileges, otherwise known as using the car’s special lights and running a few red lights when he could, the drive took him almost longer than the drive to DC that morning.  

He leaves the car running as he runs into the house, there’s an eerie silence that makes him stop and listen too hard.

“Zane?” he calls out opening the back door to the bookstore. For a split second he remember what he told Evie jokingly this morning, to make a mess for him.

There are shelves knocked over in and papers torn out as if a storm had blown through, somewhere to his left he hears a spitting hiss of one of the cats. All those worst case scenarios were starting to look a bit too real now.

“No,” He choked, pushing through the debris without much thought for his own safety. He had his gun drawn as he stumbled towards where he heard the cat hissing and found Jiminy and Cricket stuffed into a plastic crate. On his way through, he flipped the crate onto its side so they could be free and continued up the stairs towards the house level and tried to keep his stomach from revealing itself all over the floor.

“ZANE,” He shouted, pushing through the door and facing the disaster of their home. “Please,” Ty cried, dialing Zane again and distantly hearing a buzz from the kitchen. He stepped over pieces of furniture and books to find Zane’s phone abandoned on the counter and he dropped to his knees, gasps tearing from his chest as his panic took over. He clutched at his tie and tore it off, his knuckles painfully meeting the tile.

“Zane,” He cried again, hanging his head. He tried to breath, tried to get control. He needed to get control.

Through the haze of his breathing, he heard the landline go off. He looked up at it blankly, his lips trembling. He stood and jerked it from the charging cradle without a greeting.

“Ty?” Zane asked softly. Ty’s eyes closed and he fell against the counter.

“Where the fuck are you?” He growled, holding a hand to his head.

“Clancy called, she told us about the connection of the murders and advised us to stay in the office until you got back. Your phone keeps giving me the busy tone, what are you doing? Did you find anything in D.C.?” Zane asked and Ty wheezed into the phone. His chest burned and his eyes stung. He couldn’t breath and his vision was going blurry.

“I’m having a panic attack,” He gasped, sliding to the ground with the phone against his ear.

“Ty? Baby, where are you? What happened?” Zane’s distressed voice hit him but all he could do was try to breath before his chest caved in.

“Don’t come home,” He hissed through his chattering teeth when he heard Zane yelling out orders to people in the office while he came to the bookstore. “Don’t come down here, I’ll come to you, I just need a minute,” He breathed deep, putting his head between his knees.

“Yeah, fuck that Grady, I’ll be there in five,” Zane clipped, irritated and worried before rushing out to his truck. He left Evie with Clancy and hit the emergency lights in the windows as he raced home.

Ty slammed a fist against the tile, shaking his head and gasping into the phone that Zane still had him on.

“Talk to me, baby,” Zane whispered to him over the line and Ty swallowed, finally getting his panic under control. His face felt swollen and his chest burned, but he was getting air.

“Shut up, Garrett,” He said softly. “God, why’d you leave your phone, you fucking idiot,” He added with a pathetic attempt at anger.

“I forgot it! What happened?” He asked, trying to get Ty to keep talking as he raced up the main drive at Fell’s point and parked practically on the sidewalk.

“It’s trashed. Everything is trashed. The cats-” He cut off, trying to stand when he heard the roar of Zane’s truck.

Zane ran through the destroyed bookstore and raced up the steps to find Ty climbing to his feet. He dropped Clancy’s phone that he’d been using and stepped over the pieces of debris to collect Ty in his arms. He squeezed him hard, pressing his lips to Ty’s face and rubbing a hand through his hair to push it away from his face. Ty clung to him, breathing hard and letting Zane pet him. Zane was okay. Evie was safe. It was okay.

“What happened?” Zane whispered, pressing his nose to Ty’s cheek and letting the other man feel his solidness.

“Whoever murdered all those people, I think they’re after her,” He whispered. “Her file was in the evidence locker. The only one. It was covered in blood, Zane,” He choked, pulling back to look at him.

“Okay,” Zane nodded, trying to keep his mind from going into overdrive. He rubbed his hands over Ty’s back, feeling the trembling in the muscles and trying to soothe. “Okay. Let’s get back to the office and we’ll go from there. We’ll find them and we’ll figure this out,” He tried. Ty nodded slowly, stepping back to breath and Zane let his hands run down Ty’s arms to hook at his fingers.

“Okay,” Ty agreed, snatching Zane’s phone from the counter and pulling him to the stairs.

When they arrive at the office, Clancy has Evie in the conference room, bouncing her in her lap with Perrimore making faces over Clancy’s head. Before they could interrupt and make themselves known, Ty stops Zane, and averts his eyes as the larger man turns his gaze to his husband in question.

“We need to get her out of town,” He explained and Zane nodded, seeing how shaky Ty still was. He swallowed, pushing him towards one of the desks and settling him in one of the chairs. Zane got down on his knees so that he was more level with Ty and took his hands.

“We need to calm you down and then we’ll figure it out,” Zane soothed, rubbing his thumbs over Ty’s abused knuckles. Ty’s face contorted and he shook his head.

“I’m not going to calm down. Zane, some fucking psycho is out there leaving a trail of bodies to our daughter. We need to get her and you out of town and off the grid,” Ty hissed. Zane nodded, his body still as he calculated Ty’s words. His brain took a minute to catch the meaning before he looked up sharply.

“Her and I,” He repeated and Ty sighed, looking off to the side.

“One of us needs to be with her,” Ty explained sadly. “I’ll figure things out. I’ll find the bastard and figure it out.”

“You are not doing this without me, do you understand?” The rage in his husband’s voice surprised Ty, and he eyes jerked back to Zane’s in alarm. Zane’s face was red and his teeth were set. His eyes were stormy and his hands were now gripping Ty’s so hard they almost hurt.

“Zane,” Ty tried to ease, pushing forward in the chair to get closer, but Zane shook his head sharply and knocked Ty back almost violently. The sound of the impact was loud and he saw Perrimore look over though the window of the conference room in question.

“Whoever this person is, they’re not fucking around and you are not doing this by yourself. I’m not losing you over this. Don’t fucking tell me that I have to stay behind while my hero of a husband goes off and gets himself killed. I refuse to let you do this to us. Don’t even suggest it, Ty,” Zane growled, getting up and trying to walk away. Ty launched up and grabbed at Zane’s arm, turning him back and the larger man was huffing, trying to get his nerves under control.

“We have a daughter, Zane!” He argued. “We can’t think of just us anymore! We have to think of her! She’s what matters now!”

“I said no!” Zane finally yelled, causing everyone in the office to stop. Ty’s breath caught and he finally saw the tears in Zane’s eyes. His body was vibrating and flushed and he was trying his damndest to appear strong, but when Ty suggested this, he lost all control. The pain was deeper than Ty had considered to think about and as he watched his husband, he cursed after realizing what his suggestion was drudging up. Zane lost Becky all those years ago and wasn’t there when it happened. It was out of his hands.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, okay?” Ty whispered, stepping into Zane’s space and putting his hands on Zane’s face, trying to soothe. His thumb brushed at the moisture under Zane’s eyes and he nodded, pressing his forehead to Zane’s. Zane seemed to be holding his breath before closing his eyes and breathing out shakily. His hands snaked around Ty’s waist and held him close, trying to get a grip on his emotions. He nodded when he was calm and Ty stepped back a little, cocking his head.

“We’ll drive her to Boston. Have Nick anchor the boat out a few miles,” Ty said and Zane nodded hesitantly.

“You’re not doing this without me,” Zane said softly now and Ty nodded.

“Okay,” He agreed.

While Ty went off to call Nick, Zane entered the conference room. When Evie saw him, her eyes lit up and she reached for him in excitement. He smiled sadly, taking her from a worried Clancy and pressed his face to her curls while she pulled at his hair.

“Zane, what’s going on?” Clancy asked quietly. She rested a hand on his shoulder and tilted her head while Perrimore took a seat and nodded.

“We can’t just be normal for one second,” He said sadly. Clancy bit her lip and sighed, pressing her head to Zane’s shoulder.

“You weren’t meant to be normal, man,” Freddy said, crossing an ankle over his knee.

“Really though,” Clancy said, making Zane look at her. “You two are epic!” She laughed and Zane tried to smile, but it wasn’t genuine and they all knew it.

“What’s the plan?” Freddy tried.

“Nick’s boat,” Zane sighed, blowing a raspberry on Evie’s cheek when she started gnawing on his chin.

“And then?” Clancy asked and Zane set Evie back on his knee to bounce her.

“Ty wanted to leave me with her, but I refuse to let him get himself killed like this. We’re going to have Nick and Kelly take care of her and hide while we figure this out,” He explained and Freddy nodded.

“Well, you have back up here when you need it,” He said and Clancy nodded.

“And don’t you dare tell us no because I’ll kick your ass!” She clipped, poking Zane in the ribs.

Ty glanced over his shoulder into the conference room on a sigh. The panic attack he had left him with a throbbing headache and an ache in his chest. He swallowed against it and turned away from his family to dial Nick’s number before he lost his nerve and just took off with Zane and Evie, live off the land in Canada somewhere, and never talked to anyone again.

“Babe,” Nick answered cheerily and Ty closed his eyes at the refreshing tone of being unaware. He was about to crush it.

“Nick, we need your help,” Ty said softly, walking over to the window and pressed his forehead to the cold glass.

“What happened?”

Ty took a deep breath and told him everything that had happened. He tried to keep his voice calm, but as he reached the part about finding her file covered in the blood, he started cracking. His nerves are shot and his emotions were worse.

“Ty, calm down, it’s okay,” Nick interrupted him when he was just about finished. Ty closed his mouth and nodded, biting his lip.

“Zane won’t let me do this on my own,” He sighed. “I told him one of us needs to stay with her, but he won’t listen!”

“Are you surprised?” Nick asked. “Ty, if he was telling you that he was going off by himself to find this person and wanted you to stay with her, you’d throw a shit fit.”

“True,” Ty mumbled, turning to watch everyone in the conference room.

“Alright, you want me to book the next flight out? Get everything settled for you?” Nick offered and Ty shook his head.

“No, no. We’ll drive. Flying leaves too much trail. We’ll leave tonight, we’ll be there early morning if we don’t stop,” Ty said.

“Ty,” Nick sighed. “Nothing can be simple with you two,” He laughed and Ty frowned at the ground.

“Believe me, I’ve realized,” Ty said sadly and Nick was silent, feeling a little guilty for the comment. This was serious.

“I’m sorry, Ty,” He said softly and Ty nodded.

“I know,” He sighed, saying his goodbyes and closing his phone.

He slid his phone into his back pocket and watched everyone for a moment. Zane’s uneasy smile and Clancy’s charm. Evie loved her. She was very comfortable with women. It made him wonder about where she came from and how she came to be with them. Whoever was hunting her, there was a reason for all this. Who were they to her? Family?

Ty didn’t know. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He was scared and that thought made him want to puke.

~*~

It’s not until they’re back home, packing all the basics for themselves and Evie that it hits Zane hard.

He sits down heavily on the corner of the bed his face in his hands that he realizes what they’re doing. It’s how Ty finds him a few minutes later.

“Zane?” he asks, walking up to him with Evie. ”What’s wrong babe?” He looks at him and gets down on his knees so he can be closer to Zane’s height.

After a breath Zane lowers his hands, he dosen’t look like he’s been crying, much to Ty’s relief.

“It just really hit me, what we’re really doing here.” He said to Ty. “We’re making her a duffle, like we do for ourselves when we’re on the run.” He swallows hard like he’s fighting something back. “Ty we’re making her live our lives and she’s one. No kid should have to do this. I just don’t understand why this stuff seems to ride our backs everywhere we go. No matter what, it’s like we attract it, and I just-” He cuts himself off and looks down again.

“Zane, look at me, look at us.” Ty said shifting Evie in his arms. “This isn’t you and me putting her through the dangers of our jobs, this is some absolute monster forcing us to do what we always do, this time to keep our daughter safe. We do what we have to in order to survive.”

Zane  looks at them both for a moment and nods, then he’s pulling them in close. “We’re gonna get through this.” He promises. “We’re gonna get through this and be a proper happy family.”

“You’re damn right we are.” Ty breathes against his shoulder and for some reason it takes a bit of the weight off his shoulders to hear him almost swear in front of their daughter. “Now, I’m going to go and attempt to keep her awake so she sleeps for the ride. Finish packing our things, Lone Star,” Ty ordered and Zane nodded, turning back to the bags. Ty sighed, leaving him to it and bit his lip, bouncing a cranky Evie on his hip.

He found Clancy in the living room, peeking out of the window with her phone pressed to her ear. She was keeping watch while they packed and Perrimore was doing surveillance of the perimeter. Whoever had broken into the bookstore must be searching out other locations.

When she hung up, she turned to them with an exasperated sigh.

“How’s it going?” Ty smiled, bringing Evie to the kitchen and setting her in her high chair. She whined a little, wanting to be sleeping, but Ty poured some of her little Gerber snack puffs that she liked onto the tray. He winked at her when she dove into it and stole one, popping it into his mouth.

“No sign of anyone. The city is pretty quiet, except for the usual shit- crap! I mean crap,” Clancy said, walking over to sit at the bar. Ty opened the fridge and handed her a bottle of water.

“We’ll discuss surveillance measures when we get back. For now, just keep an eye on the bookstore until we can get cameras up. I want this place dusted on Monday,” Ty said, taking out a hard lemonade and popped it open. Clancy glared, staring pointedly at the beverage, then at her water.

“Excuse you, where’s mine?” She asked.

“You’re working,” Ty said, leaning against the counter and watching Evie devour her food.

“Yeah, yeah,” Clancy mumbled, chugging a bit of her water. “How’s Zane?” She asked and Ty shrugged.

“Frustrated. I wish he’d listen and just stay with her. She needs one of us with her while this gets figured out,” He complained.

“Then you stay with her,” Clancy pointed.

“Hell no,” He snapped and turned his gaze to her’s and finding her knowing look. “Point taken,” He sighed.

“Listen, Ty,” She started. “You guys are a force to be reckoned with. Whoever is fucking with you guys, with her,” She pointed at Evie. “He or she has no idea who the hell they’re dealing with. We’ll figure this out and you and Zane can take Evie on a nice, long holiday,” She said and Ty nodded, knowing she’s right. It’d just been so long since their last encounter with danger and he had begun to hope they were retired from it.

“Thanks,” He said softly.

“Anytime, babe!” She smiled. Her phone began to ring and she sighed, hopping off her stool and heading back to her place at the window. “You get my manicotti? I’m starving, man, hurry the hell up!” She ranted into the phone.

Ty smiled softly, turning back to Evie and seeing that she had nodded off while he’d been distracted.

~*~

They hit the road around Midnight. Zane set up her car seat in the truck and put all their things in the bed. They wouldn’t be returning to the bookstore and they would be closed for the next week or two.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” Ty asked. They’d been driving for a about an hour and Zane already had that look he got whenever he’d been sitting too long.

“No, I’m fine,” Zane said softly, reaching over to hold Ty’s hand. Evie was able to sleep a little bit into the drive so Ty didn’t have to sit in the back seat with her.

“Are you okay?” Ty asked. Zane nodded, squeezing Ty’s fingers.

“I’m fine, Ty. I’m just worried.”

“Nick and Kelly will be with her. They’ll cruise around the bay a bit, maybe go up to Canada for a bit. She’ll be fine,” Ty tried reasoning and Zane shook his head.

“I’m not so much worried about her. I mean, I am, of course I am, but I trust Nick and Kelly completely. I’m just worried about us. I want this to be over and done, but whoever is hunting her isn’t from around here and they don’t fuck around. The bodies are piling, Ty,” He said, glancing away from the road to look at his husband.

“I know. But we have the best of Baltimore watching any move this asshole makes.”

“What if we lose someone?” Zane questioned. “What if I lose you?”

“That won’t happen,” Ty said sternly. Zane nodded, more for Ty’s benefit than actually agreeing. “Zane, we have to do what we have to do. We can’t just wait around and wait for an attack. We have everyone watching for this person and we’ll get this over with. Then we can go on vacation or some-” He broke off on a gasp when the truck swerved. Evie made a startled noise and Ty’s hands splayed, one against the door frame and one against Zane’s chest. “Christ!” He cursed when the truck straightened out and he gazed over at Zane’s furious expression.   
  
“Did you just say that?!” Zane growled. “Nothing like jinxing us, Jesus Ty!”

“Sorry! Holiday! I don’t know! It’s been years, Zane!”

“I don’t care!” He argued. “Dammit, Grady.”

“Sorry!” He whispered harshly, looking over his shoulder to see if Evie was okay. Still sleeping.

Zane shook his head, eyes wild as he drove. Ty sighed, reaching for his hand again.

“Let me drive,” He said.

“No, I’m fine.”

“I want to drive,” Ty argued and Zane sighed, jaw set, as he pulled off into a rest stop.

“Fine. I’ll sleep,” He mumbled, parking and getting out to walk a bit. Ty watched him go and shook his head, jumping out of the cab of the truck to follow him. He gained on Zane in seconds and before his husband could protest, he hooked a foot around his ankle and forced his wrist behind his back. With a startled cry, Zane fell to his knees and before he could say anything, Ty crouched down and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

“Yes, you will sleep. And we’ll get through this,” He stressed, burying a hand in Zane’s hair and pressed his face to his neck. After a moment, Zane relaxed and wrapped his arms around Ty tightly.

“You didn’t have to subdue me, shit, Ty,” He laughed a little and Ty shrugged.

“You love it when I subdue you,” He poked and Zane smiled sadly, pressing his lips to Ty’s shoulder.

~*~

They make it to Boston by seven in the morning, neither one of them willing to wait any longer to get her to a safe place. Unsurprisingly the lights are on in the Fiddler.  Kelly’s the one who opens the door and ushers them all in.

“I know it’s early Doc, sorry if we woke you guys up.”

“Tyler shut up and get in here so I can hug you and meet my godchild.” Kelly tells him checking the docks behind them before locking the door.

Evie blinked blearily in Zane’s arms, she had slept through most of the ride up to Boston but the commotion around her now roused her.

“Where’s Nick?” Zane asked trying to rock her a little so she would go back to sleep.

“Getting things set up. He’ll be up in a minute.” Kelly said grabbing a bag from Ty and walking them down to the living area.

“We really can’t ever thank you enough for this.” Zane told him.

“Both of you come back in one piece, that’ll be all the thanks I need.” Kelly said looking them both over with a tired look. Then he turned to the child in Zane’s arms. “Come on princess let’s go scare your uncle Nick into thinking he’s got responsibilities now.”

Zane handed her over gently, his heart squeezing as he let her go, even if it was suppose to only be for a little while. Beside him Ty was feeling the same thing.

“Come on, you two should see this, and Garrett I hope you have a camera.” Kelly said seeing their faces and trying his best to make the moment less painful.

For her part Evie stayed drowsily in Kelly’s arms, seemingly comfortable with the unexpected switchover. They walk down towards the master bedroom as quietly as possible. Kelly pauses by the door, knocking despite the fact that it’s partly open.

“Nicko?” Kelly calls out.

“Yeah what do you need?” Nick asks from somewhere inside, there’s a  sound of footsteps as he walks over to the door.

“Congrats you’re an uncle!” Kelly says brightly opening the door the rest of the way with his shoulder and smiling.

He had been right they should have taken out their cameras.

Nick seemed totally unprepared for the sight of Kelly holding a child. His face went from shock to something softer. A small smile played on his lips before he schooled himself and glanced over to Ty and Zane standing behind Kelly.

“Hey, good to see you guys made it up here alright.” Nick said. Ty nodded his thanks and nodded back towards the kitchen.

“Why don’t we move this away from the sex dungeon. I’m starving,” He laughed and Nick rolled his eyes, following them out. Kelly turned to him in the hall and offered a sleepy baby.

“Wanna hold her?” He asked and Nick looked down at her in horror, but nodded reluctantly. Kelly let her slide into his arms and she rested her head on Nick’s shoulder. Kelly grinned, biting his lip and following Ty and Zane into the kitchen.

“So give us details,” Nick said as Kelly got out some left overs for them to snack on.

“There’s a string of bodies in Atlanta, where she was picked up and the bullet matches the one in our social worker’s head,” Ty rattled off. He picked at a piece of cold chicken and Zane took it out of his fingers and popped it into his mouth.

“Shit,” Kelly said, raising an eyebrow.

“We have everyone at the office on it and anyone with a badge is getting notified this weekend to be on the look out. We don’t want anymore casualties,” Zane said.

“You got any visual on them? Know anything about appearance?” Nick asked.

“Nothing,” Ty sighed.

“Damn,” Kelly frowned.

It was silent for a moment and Zane got up slowly. “We’ve got some more of her stuff in the car, I’ll go grab it,” He said and Kelly got up as well.

“I’ll help. Introduce Evie to the neighbors,” He said and took the waking baby from Nick. He kissed Nick briefly and took Evie with a soft smile.

As Zane followed Kelly out onto the deck with her, Ty stared down at his hands. Nick watched him knowingly. He knew there was something Ty wasn’t saying, a worry laying heavily on his mind.

“What is it, Grady?” He asked softly, ducking his head close to Ty’s. His eyes were dark and his frown lines were prominent. It was hard to see him like this. After adopting a daughter, he thought he’d see more life.

“I need you to promise me something,” Ty said hesitantly after a moment. Nick nodded, waiting for Ty to elaborate. “Don’t say anything to Zane.”

“I won’t,” Nick promised, the dull ache of fear enveloping his heart. Ty reach up to press his palms to his eyes and rubbed, trying to rid himself of both the frustration and sleep. He sighed, letting his fists thump lazily onto the table that they were seated at and he looked up at Nick, defeated.

“I love you, Irish. If anything happens to us, promise me you’ll take care of her. Promise me you’ll take care of Zane if I die.” Nick gazed at him in horror and shook his head slowly.

“Jesus, Ty, a little morbid, don’t you think?” He growled low, looking over at the door to make sure Zane or Kelly wasn’t there.

“Promise me, Nick,” Ty said more sternly, reaching out to grip Nick’s forearm. Nick stared down at the hand and back up to Ty’s stormy eyes.

“I promise,” He whispered and Ty held his gaze for a little longer before letting him go and staring back down at his own hands.

“Thank you,” He said and Nick reached out to grip Ty’s wrist.

“But you need to promise me that you’ll do everything in your power to come back to us. With Zane,” Nick ordered in his marine voice. Ty flinched a little, before meeting his eyes and smiling a little.

He nodded, sighing. “I promise.”


	4. Hide

“Is she easy?” Kelly wondered later that morning as he and Zane entertained Evie on the deck while Nick and Ty went to get supplies for the trip. 

“She sleeps between us sometimes, but other than that, she’s a pretty happy baby overall,” Zane shrugged, smiling down at her in Kelly’s arms. She glared at him, holding her arms out, as if offended that he was there in her presence and not holding her. 

“She loves you,” Kelly smiled, letting her transfer to Zane and she curled against him in his one arm hold that they seemed to do a lot. Her bottom resting in the crook of his elbow and his forearm supporting her legs while she leaned the top part of her body against his shoulder. 

“I love her,” Zane laughed, bouncing her and she smiled, leaning forward to blow raspberries against his jaw. 

“I’m happy for you Zane,” Kelly said softly, slapping a hand against Zane’s back. He and Zane had become quite close friends over the last few years. When Nick and Ty were gone on deployments, he and Zane had begun to talk more, sharing experiences and interests. Kelly had become one of Zane’s closest friends other than Ty. 

“Thank you, Kelly,” Zane nodded. Kelly smiled crookedly and stretched his body a bit, looking out over the water. 

“How’s Ty taking everything?” He asked Zane. 

“He’s an amazing father. This issue is a little much on his blood pressure,” Zane shrugged, holding Evie close. 

“I’m sure,” Kelly sighed. “Well, once everything is over, you guys can take a nice long holiday. Stay out of trouble, yeah?” He chuckled, jabbing Zane in the ribs with his elbow. Zane grunted, nodding. 

“I’d like that,” Zane smiled down at a dozing Evie. 

~*~

They return to Baltimore later that night. Instead of going back to the bookstore, however, they find a slummy hotel on the outskirts of the city, getting a room under fake names. 

It was hard leaving her. She must have sensed them leaving because as they neared their departure, she became restless and wouldn’t leave Zane’s arms. When they did step off the boat and began to walk back to the truck, they could hear her cries and it took everything in Ty not to turn around and stay with her so she would never make that noise again. 

They don’t speak much at the hotel, Ty recognizing the look on Zane’s face. He didn’t want to trigger anything, make the situation worse. He just wanted his husband with him tonight. 

“You hungry?” Ty asked when they shut the door to their room. Zane shook his head silently, heading for the bathroom. 

Ty sighed, sitting at the end of the bed and listening to the shower go. He ordered food anyway, a couple burgers and drinks. They needed to eat, whether Zane wanted to or not. 

Ty changed while he waited for the food and decided to wear one of Zane’s shirts, holding it up to his face and breathing in his scent. He closed his eyes, hugging the piece of clothing to him. He must have fallen asleep because he didn’t know Zane was there until he was being pulled into a pair of arms. 

“I put the food in the mini fridge,” Zane murmured, nuzzling Ty’s neck. 

“We should eat it,” He replied, turning his face so that Zane’s lips brushed his. 

“Not hungry,” Zane said softly. There was something in his voice that made Ty pull back to look at him and Zane sighed, rolling onto his back and letting Ty go when he saw the look. 

“You’re eating,” Ty said, final, and got up to dig into the fridge and find the still warm take out boxes. He flipped on the TV and tossed the box into Zane’s lap. He watched Zane lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling before Zane finally moved his hands to his face and breathed out, his shoulders shaking. 

“Baby?” Ty asked softly, setting his box on the table and crawling up the bed. “Fine, I’m sorry you don’t have to eat, just don’t cry,” He said jokingly, moving Zane’s food to the side table. When Zane didn’t laugh or move, Ty crawled over him and moved his hands away. His eyes were shut and his lips were pressed tight. He looked like he would cry, if Ty gave him one more reason to. “Talk to me,” Ty suggested, lacing their fingers on either side of Zane’s head. 

Zane stayed silent for a moment before opening his eyes to meet Ty’s. They were red and wet and the look in them made Ty want to hold him until it went away. But he knew why the look was there and holding him wouldn’t help.

“I’m so scared,” Zane admitted quietly. Ty swallowed, nodding. 

“I know. Me too,” He said softly, leaning up to press their foreheads together. 

Zane struggled for words for a moment before giving up and just moving his arms so that they wrapped around Ty tightly and he buried his crumbling face in Ty’s throat. Ty held him, whispering soothing things into his ear, rubbing his hands down his back and tracing the scars over the skin. 

Zane shook under Ty, clutching desperately at him. He couldn’t control it anymore. He’d tried to be strong and tried to keep above the water, but after waiting so long to be a father, he might lose the most important things in his life. 

And Ty, trying to be his brace even when Zane knew how close he was from the edge. Ty is always the strong one. And Zane hated that Ty felt he had to be. 

“Tomorrow we’ll get back on track,” Zane whispered, pulling away to look at Ty’s face. Ty nodded, letting Zane’s fingers trace his cheeks. He leaned into Zane’s palm and closed his eyes. Zane smiled lightly through his mood and leaned down to press his lips to his husband’s. 

They held each other close, feeling each other, even in sleep. 

~*~

It’s brighter out than it should be when Nick finally wakes up, after years of getting up at dawn when the light was just barely breaking over the horizon waking up when it was hitting him full in the face was a change. One he really didn’t like.

“Kels babe can you get the curtains?” He mumbles out. There’s no reply from Kelly’s side of the bed, no movement. Despite the glare of the sun he looks over to see the bed empty.

“Kels?” He yells in the direction of the bathroom, still no reply he resigns to getting up. It’s well past time to do so anyway. There’s no sound coming from the bathroom, but there is however something going on on the other end of the boat.

There’s a childish giggle sounding from the kitchen and Kelly’s laugh joins in a second later. Before he even turns the corner he knows what’s going on. 

“Aww come on now, pudding goes in you mouth not on uncle Kelly!” Kelly says to the little girl who clearly is having way too much making her Godfather wear her food instead of eating it. 

“I don’t know Kels, vanilla really is your color.” Nick says watching Evie shove her sticky hand in Kelly’s face as he tries to feed her. He tries to hold back his laughter as he watches but by the third spoonful there’s more pudding in Kelly’s hair than he’s managed to feed Evie and he’s laughing along with her giggles. When she somehow manages to grab the spoon and accidentally catapult her food right on the corner of Kelly’s mouth he loses it. Laughing so hard he’s holding onto the wall of the kitchen. 

“Alright missy let’s try this again.” Kelly says wiping the stuff off as best as he could with a towel that he’s thrown over his shoulder and tries, with a bit more success to feed her.

“Same goes for you mister, there’s leftover breakfast by the toaster.” Kelly says looking over at Nick.   
Still laughing a little Nick goes over to grab food. Watching Kelly interact with her was something beautiful, of course Kelly was a natural with kids. He sat down at the table next to them just in time to see Kelly stop Evie from launching the pudding cup across the room. 

“Ok cleeeaaarly we’re done with lunch then.” Kelly says lifting her out of her high chair. “Though I think I’m gonna have to shower most of it out of my hair.”

“Aww babe I thought you liked getting sticky, warm, white stuff on your face.” Nick said innocently taking a bite of breakfast. It earned him a whack on the head with the towel Kelly had in hand.

“Ow! Come on she’s one it’s not like she gets it.” Nick said.

“No she doesn't.” Kelly agreed with a smile. “But since you’re in the mood to be funny you can entertain her while I clean this stuff off.” Kelly said setting her down in Nick’s lap and vanishing from the kitchen before Nick could stop him.

“Wait what?” Nick looked down at the girl and found here looking at him with cautious curiosity.There’s a moment of near panic at the thought of being left alone to take care of his best friend’s kid before he turns to call after his boyfriend.

“Kels come on you know I don’t do well with-” he’s cut off by the sound of the shower turning on and Kelly laughing faintly.

“Kids.” he finishes lamely. 

Evie looks at him for a moment before deciding that he’s not Kelly and that just won’t do. She makes a fussy sound that immediately makes Nick wince, he has no idea how to handle kids, especially not ones that cry.

“Awww ok come on now it’s not so bad.” Nick offers. His words make her pause for a moment, not like she truly understood what he said, more so like she liked the sound of his voice. 

“I know I’m not your dads or uncle Kelly but I’m here to keep you safe too okay?” He asked her.

“Okay?” he asks again bouncing his knees gently like he’d seen his mother do with his younger sisters.

Evie surprises him with a little “Kay” 

“Atta girl, maybe we should clean you off a bit too.” Nick tells her feeling like less of an idiot for trying to hold a conversation with a one year old now that she said something back. 

With Kelly occupying the only bathroom on the boat Nick carries her over to the kitchen sink, it’s not like there’s much of a difference to a kid her age he reasons. Since her clothes are just as dirty as the rest of her he sets the water to a comfortably warm setting and starts spraying her down with the sink spray hose. He’s not quite prepared for the peals of laughter that follow. 

“Oh so this was your evil plan all along huh?” He asks her getting a clean washcloth out to help get the worst of the epic pudding fight carnage off her. She’s laughing the whole time he’s got the spray going like it’s the greatest thing she’s ever seen. 

She makes a grabbing motion with her hands and he gives her the washcloth, watching as she carefully tries to repeat what he did. There’s a sense of pride there as he watches her do it, and it’s pretty short lived. One moment Evie’s washing her face the next she’s tossing the washcloth out onto the kitchen floor. 

“Well that didn’t last long.” Nick says to himself as he goes to pick it up.

“Now look, the washcloth’s all-” Nick turn towards her only to find she’s figured out not only how to turn on the spray hose, but also how to aim it. 

Right in his face. 

Just as Kelly walks in. 

“Is this payback for the jizz-pudding comment because I take that back.” Nick says when the stream of water finally stops. Now Kelly’s the one laughing by the kitchen wall and Evie is giggling with joy over her new toy. 

“Oh man, oh man I wish I had a camera they’re never gonna believe this when I tell them.” Kelly laughs sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. 

“Thank God for small miracles.” Nick says and gets another blast of water this time in the chest sounding off a new round of laughter from both Evie and Kelly. 

Kelly’s still laughing when he walks over to her with a big towel. “Fair is fair missy, bath time is over.” He says lifting her up to dry her off. “And it looks like you guys did laundry the O’Flaherty way too.” Kelly says realizing Nick had bathed her in her clothes.

“Two birds one stone man!” Nick told him getting off the wet kitchen floor.

“Remind me to never let you do laundry alone again.” Kelly said taking Evie to get changed. “Actually you might wanna shower too.” he tells Nick

“I should probably move the boat first.” Nick says throwing paper towels on the puddles in the kitchen.

“Move boat then shower.” Kelly says walking past him with a squirming bundle in a towel. He stops to drop a kiss on his cheek before he walks out. 

“Yeah alright.” Nick says watching them go, the plan was to move around the coast a bit, head up towards New York if they didn’t hear otherwise from Ty and Zane. They could meet up with Owen there if the need arose. 

It seemed wholly unfair that every-time one of them found a little happiness in the world something came around to try to snatch it away. Maybe that’s why they all held on to those they loved so dearly. 

~*~

“Perrimore, I want you on the bookstore. Clancy on daycare. Bastian, I need you on the streets. Monitor the doctor’s office, the grocery store, whatever. Look for anything suspicious,” Ty rattled off. The new kid looked scared shitless and a bit confused, but he was one of the only ones in the office now with enough experience other than Clancy and Perrimore. 

“BPD has all active officers aware of the situation,” Perrimore rattled off from his desk and Ty nodded a thanks. 

“Ty, we don’t even have a visual on the guy, how are we-” Clancy started and Ty cut her off.

“That’s our goal, as of now, is to get a face to the bastard and put a warrant out,” Ty said and walked over to Zane who had set up a workstation at his old desk. Ty planted a kiss on the top of his had and looked at the screen of the computer. 

“I have live cameras going on the bookstore entrance and some facing the street,” He told Ty, leaning back to rest his head against Ty’s chest. Ty let his hand rest on his shoulder and he kneaded the muscle there soothingly. 

“Perfect,” He said, nodding. 

“Grady!” McCoy called from his office and Ty sighed. 

“Just like old times,” He grumbled. 

Ty made his way to McCoy’s office as the office disbursed. 

“I want results on the dusting in an hour!” He called over his shoulder to the rest of the office and he heard the new kids scatter. 

McCoy was sitting at his desk with a hard look on his face and Ty almost pouted, knowing the face wasn’t good. He sighed, plopping down in the chair. 

“What’s up?” He asked. 

“Good to see you, Tyler,” McCoy smiled weakly. Ty looked at him oddly at the name he used and cocked his head at him. “How’s parenthood?” 

Ty watched for a moment before trying to relax and little and he shrugged, “I mean, good considering the psychopath tracking our daughter,” He said flatly. McCoy nodded, shifting in his seat. 

“Listen, Grady,” McCoy started, rubbing the bridge of his nose and Ty glared. This wasn’t good. 

“Spit it out, man.”

“Remember, once upon a time when you and Zane were handsome targets and we had to put you on leave?” McCoy asked and Ty knew what was coming. 

“Fuck no, Dan!” Ty snapped, standing. 

“Grady, calm down. This is personal for you two. You can’t be running the show here. It’s too much exposure, too much vulnerability. You can’t be on this case!” McCoy argued, standing as well and rounding his desk. 

“They’re after my daughter!” Ty practically yelled and Zane suddenly came through the door. 

“Garrett-” McCoy started and Zane shook his head. 

“I don’t work for you anymore, sir,” He said softly and came to stand beside Ty. 

“He wants us off the case!” Ty cried at Zane and Zane sighed, looking over at their old boss knowingly. He was silent for a moment, knowing what he was about to say was going to send Ty into a rage. 

“He’s right,” Zane said quietly and McCoy nodded his thank you and looked to Ty. Ty was staring at Zane as if he didn’t know him. Zane cringed. 

“She is our responsibility,” Ty said low. The tone of his voice made Zane’s stomach drop and the look in his eyes made him want to hold him. 

“I’ll just be…” McCoy started, heading for the door. “Not here,” He finished, shutting them in. 

Zane bit his lip and stepped closer to Ty, who took a step back as a response. Zane frowned, reaching for Ty’s hand and holding fast. 

“Please,” Zane started, looking into Ty’s heated eyes. He was pissed. “Just hear me out, ok?” He asked and Ty looked at him for a moment before sighing and pulling away to look out of the window. 

“Please, explain to me how taking us off this case is even remotely an option, Zane.”

“She’s our daughter, Ty,” Zane murmured. 

“Exactly!” Ty rounded on him, arms out at his sides. 

“We should be with her. We shouldn’t be targeting ourselves!” Zane argued and Ty practically growled. 

“I told you to stay with her!” Ty shouted, pointing at him. “One of us should have been with her. But one of us needs to be here!”

“That’s not how it works, Ty!” Zane argued and stepped forward to pull him close. He held his arms tight so he couldn’t pull away and dipped his head to Ty’s level so he was forced to look him in the eyes. “We’re partners, baby,” He said, softer now. “Where you go, I go,” He added and Ty swallowed, watching him. His jaw was set and his eyes were still angry, but his hands found Zane’s and he gripped fast. 

“I need to be doing something. I can’t let this case go without me,” Ty broke and Zane pressed his lips softly to Ty’s. He wound both his arms around him and held him close, letting his vibrating body relax against his. 

“We can do work at home, but we need to be under the radar,” Zane reasoned. “We need to do this for her. She needs both of us, not one.”

Ty frowned up at him and eventually relaxed enough to breath normally. Zane nodded, pressing another kiss to Ty’s temple. 

“Fine,” Ty said, pushing past Zane and leaving the office. 

~*~

Later that night, Zane finally got Ty to settle back at the hotel. Of course, Ty insisted on moving an entire office worth of files and case information with them to their room, but it was a compromise. 

The prints were untraceable at the bookstore. There was no file on whoever had been there. Which only infuriated Ty more. 

“Why don’t you relax for a bit and I’ll order food?” Zane came up behind him and smoothed his hands over Ty’s shoulders. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of neck and rubbed his sore muscles. 

“I want bar food,” Ty grumbled, looking at the case map he pinned up on the wall. 

“I’ll order in the take out,” Zane nodded, sliding his phone into Ty’s palm. 

“Call the Godparents and check up on our daughter, yeah?” Zane asked softly, kissing Ty’s skin again. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Ty smiled at the tickle of Zane’s short beard on his skin. 

Zane disappeared from the bedroom to order take out from the hotel phone and Ty sat on their bed, exhausted.

He fiddles with his phone for a moment before dialing Nick’s number. It rings, again and again but he’s not picking up. His first instinct is that something’s wrong but he reasons, as the phone goes to voice-mail, that Nick might just be busy with Evie. 

He grumbles under his breath for a moment as he flips back to his contacts. He’s about to call Kelly when the man’s name appears on his screen with an incoming call. 

“Damnit Doc, you beat me to it.” He says to himself relieved as he accepts the call. Kelly must have noticed his earlier attempt and decided to call him. 

“Hey Doc, how’s godfather duty?” He asks. 

There’s a bit of background noise before a cool voices that is most definitely neither Kelly’s nor Nick’s answers him. 

“Hello Tyler.”


	5. Alexander Zylka

**12 Hours Earlier**

Ever since he had worked with Nicholas O’Flaherty he’s come to realize that perhaps not all cops were absolutely useless wankers. Perhaps on occasion they could be useful for something. Julian desperately hoped that he could find what he was looking for through Nick O’Flaherty, if the rumors were true it might be his only shot at getting a head start on the crazy Russian bastard.

He toed the deck of the Fiddler silently, force of habit that came from years on the job, but it served to protect the inhabitants of the boat as well, if he announced himself and arrived as normal word might get out, blowing his chance to bits. He picked the lock cleanly, hoping the alarm system would be shut off by the owner before it had a chance to alert authorities.  
When he slipped in he had about a second to realize what the silence darkness meant.

“Don’t move.” A vaguely familiar voice told him pressing a gun to his back.

Julian gave him a clear nod fighting the instinct to turn around and disarm the man, but he couldn’t let this go bad. Then, after a moment he remembered the man’s name.

“Abbott it’s Cross.” He said slowly. “We’ve worked together before.”

“I’m aware.” Kelly said not removing the gun from its place. “What I’m not getting is why you’re here.”

Julian bit his tongue resisting the urge to say something snarky. God help him, Cam was so much better at dealing with these people. “I need help, nothing that would be painful to give and nothing that you don’t already have.”

“What makes you so sure?” Nick O’Flaherty’s voice asked as he walked into the room, his own weapon still in hand but not aimed at anyone.

“Because you’re already looking into this and you’re all in way over your heads.” Julian told him, breathing marginally easier once he felt Abbott withdraw his gun.

“Over our heads, huh?” Nick said, walking closer. “What are you really here for, Cross?”

“Information.” Julian replied cooly.

“Seems like you already have more than we do.” Kelly said matching his tone.

“My information comes from a very . . . delicate source.” Julian relented. “I’m here more to confirm my suspicions, if you will.”

“Do antique dealers dabble in Russian politics often?” Nick asked, sensing what Julian was after.

“Oh, now and again.” Julian told him.

There was a pause, Nick gave Kelly a nod and the other man walked past Julian and into the hall behind him. 

“What do you want to know?” Nick asked him.

“I do appreciate you doing this.” Julian said, walking over to the table between them. “Who has he killed so far that BPD hasn’t released to the public?”

“Allison Jones, an old shadow operative and Joshua Pierce, a cop.”

“And all the department is linking them by at the moment is ballistics?” Julian asked.

“It’s all he ever leaves behind.” Nick told him sounding pissed. “You’re turn.”

Julian gave him a nod, despite his hesitance to give out this information, he owed this man at least that much.

“Active or Burned?” Nick asked.

Julian stared at him for a moment surprised. “Burned, this is far too sloppy for official work.” He  
paused the added. “He’s after something.”

“No shit Sherlock, otherwise there wouldn’t be a body count.” Nick said before tossing him a file. It was all photocopied but the information Julian needed was there.

“O’Flaherty.” Julian said quietly as the papers confirmed what he had been wary of. “Does the bureau or the department know you have this information?”

“No.” He said and Julian heard a hint of deceit in his voice.

“Besides Grady, I mean.” Julian clarified, mind already working the numbers and the odds that he was being followed.

“In that case, really no.” Nick said truthfully this time, frowning at Julian.

“I see no name in any of these files.” Julian pointed out.

“Ghosts don’t usually get names.” Nick snarked back. “But I get the feeling that you know this one.”

“Unfortunately.” Julian conceded.

Nick stared at Julian, waiting silently. He could hear Kelly walking back towards them with the little girl in his arms.

“Alexander Zylka.” Julian said in a properly cold voice just before Kelly rounded the corner. When he saw the child Kelly was carrying, he paled for a moment, putting his own clues together and the next words out of his mouth were anything but proper.

“Mac na galla!” He spit out.

“Oi! Watch your mouth, that’s Grady’s kid and I am not explaining to him how she picked that-“

“Grady’s child?” Julian repeated, returning to English. “Of fucking course it is.”

“Seriously Cross watch your tongue.” Kelly said covering her ears.

“Both of you listen to me right now.” Julian snapped back to deadly serious, getting their attention. “When Zylka we still active he had a partner. A very good, very dangerous partner. I’m talking about Red Room operatives, the kind that people will tell you don’t exist.” Julian said, looking at the child in shock.

“Rumor was that she got attached to her little pet and they vanished off the grid a while back, just before he got burned.”

“How long?” Nick asked

“Around nine months, give or take.” Julian said.

“So you think she had a kid or something, then ran from him?” Kelly asked.

“I only ever ran into Her once, but it was enough.” Julian replied. “I don’t think she had a kid, I _know_ she had a daughter and you’re holding her as we speak.”

Nick and Kelly glanced at each other stunned.

“You seem pretty damn sure about that.” Nick told him with warning in his voice.

“Look O’Flaherty, I’ll put it this way. We have maybe an hour on the outside to vanish before he figures out the child isn’t in Baltimore and he’ll be on his way back here.”

“The hell do you mean vanish?” Nick barked. “Garrett and Grady are hunting him down as we speak. They got-“

“Nothing.” Julian finished for him. “Seriously pack a bag, leave a light on and let’s go, he might still have old friends willing to help him.”

When neither man moved Julian snarled, anxious to be moving to a safer place.

“Look we can find a way to let them know where we are later, but if you want to keep your heads and the little girl alive-“

“Evelyn.” Kelly said giving Julian a nod. “Or Evie, if you’d prefer.”

“We need to vanish. Now.” Julian said, stalking towards the door, relieved to hear the other men were moving to get their things. “And pray to God she’s not still working with him or we’re all already dead.”

~*~

They’re two hours out on the road, leaving the Fiddler behind when Julian sees Nick’s phone flip to life and start ringing. 

“Shit it’s Ty. He’s gonna flip when he hears what we’re doing.” Nick says, reaching for the phone. 

“Let me talk to him.” Julian requests.

“Oh yeah because that’ll go over well.” Nick says, letting the phone keep ringing. 

“You said they’re trying to hunt down Zylka? Then let me tell them what I know, it might be of value to them.” Julian reasons. 

“He’s got a point. And if Ty flips you can call Zane, explain what’s going on to him.” Kelly says handing his phone to Julian. 

“Thank you.” Julian says flipping through his contacts and dialing Grady’s number. 

On the second ring he hears him answer his phone with a relieved sounding “Hey Doc, how’s godfather duty?” 

Julian pauses a moment as he realizes he had in fact dialed the right person. He glances over his shoulder to where Kelly is talking to the little girl. 

“Hello Tyler.” Julian says easily. There’s about ten solid seconds of silence on the line that makes Julian begin to wonder if Grady hung up before he hears him reply. 

“Whoever you are, you better have an excellent reason on why you have this number or I swear-” Ty clips out in a cold, dangerous voice before he’s cut off by a slightly frustrated Julian.

“You always were so dramatic. Now for the love of all that’s Holy, shut up Grady, your friends and daughter are fine. Congratulations, by the way, I suppose.”

“. . .Cross?” Ty asks hesitantly. In the background, Julian can faintly hear Garrett’s voice asking something.

“I see those sharp wits of yours are still in working order.” Julian confirmed.

“Cross what the hell are you doing with my best friends and child?” Ty demanded. 

“Keeping them safe. Consider it repaying a favor if you will.” Julian told him. “Before you lose your mind, just let me say this, the man you are tracking is absolutely one of the most dangerous people out there. I speak from experience.” 

“I’ll admit it’s a little difficult not losing my mind right now, considering who I’m speaking with.” Ty said. “Fuck knows we need all the info on this bastard we can get, if you’re willing to help, I’ll listen.” 

“Well that was simpler than expected. Have Garrett write this down,” Julian replied. “O’Flaherty already filled me in on some of what you know, understand that what I’m telling you can not be traced back to me.”

“I promise.” Ty agreed turning the phone to speaker and from behind him, Zane’s voice sounded bemused as he said “That’s the girl scout pledge, Ty.” 

“Do the words “Chernyy Proyekt Nomere” mean anything to you?” Julian asked slipping into a sharper tone as he spoke.

Ty felt his blood chill as the words hit them. It had been years since he’d even heard mention of it, but the memories were all too clear. 

“I’ll take that as a yes, in which case, were you ever familiar with Andronikov’s work?” he asked further.

“Andronikov’s dead.” Ty said in a hard voice. “He was shot coming out of a bar in Kiev.”

“Not my best work, I’ll admit.” Julian muttered. “The point is, Andronikov led the training and oversaw several sections of Chernyy Proyekt. Red Room being one of them.”

“Ghost stories Cross, there’s no such thing as Red Room.” Ty said over the phone, but he didn’t seem convinced. 

“The Black Room Project was suppose to be a ghost story too, but we both know better.” Julian reminded him. When the other line stayed quiet he continued.

“One of Andronikov’s protegee’s went on to do a fair bit of damage. On his own he was ruthless, but with her he was a weapon that knew no mercy, only targets. You got information on an old operative in the states, let me give you a name. Alexander Zylka.”

“Cross, if you’re serious about this.” Ty said, feeling like his hope was slowly being chipped away with each new word that Julian spoke.

“Unfortunately I am, look into Zylka’s aliases and see if you can find who he worked with in the states, it’s possible to get the upper hand on him . . . if he’s not still working with her.”

“Cross, what aren’t you telling us?” Zane demanded, catching on.

Julian sighed before answering in a quieter voice. “Zylka was the gun, but Natasha Markov was the one wielding the gun. And what they used to whisper about them is true.” He said in a grim voice. “Nikogda ne otpravlyat' v ishcheyka , poka vy ne videli, chto Krasnaya devushka mozhet sdelat'.”

“Never send in a bloodhound until you’ve seen what a Red girl can do.” Ty repeated. “This just went so far past normal.” He muttered running his hand over his face.

“What is Red Room or whatever Cross said before?” Zane asked them. 

“It’s . . . think of it this way, if you took a child and trained them from their first years of life to be nothing but deadly, until it was all they knew, then gave them an order to be more. That’s where the Red Room began. Children, almost exclusively young girls, trained to spy and kill like it was a game, and losing was never an option offered to them.”

“So Zylka and his partner are trained like some kind of super spy movie assassins?” Zane asked. 

“It still doesn't explain why they’re after Evie.” Ty said.

“Here’s where it gets rather unfortunate, you two seem to have a talent for finding the most difficult paths in life. I don’t envy that.” Julian said sounding sincerely apologetic. “Zylka and Markov went . . . off the grid. Not too long after that, word came around that there was a price on Zylka’s head, and his alone.” Julian seemed unsure on how to break it to them. 

“Grady, Garrett? The girl you two adopted is their daughter.”

The shock that ran through Zane rendered him silent. 

“No.” Ty said hollowly. “No, she might have been born to them, but she’s our daughter.” He bit out firmly, Julian’s words made perfect sense, but Evie was their’s and no one was going to take her away while he and Zane were still breathing. 

“Are you saying he’s after our daughter. . . to what, repay a debt or something?” Zane asked repulsed by the idea. 

“It looks like that’s his play. . . you understand now how deadly these games tend to get.” Julian said to them. 

“Son of a bitch Julian, how did you even figure this all out?” Ty asked. 

“I’ve had a couple of run-ins with this sort of thing before, what matters now is that you two stay low until you know exactly who he has working for him and if she’s still in play.” 

“Anything else?” Ty asked in a weary voice.

“Yes, I took your friends and daughter off of that bullet riddled boat-”

“Hey you’re part of the reason it has those bullet holes!” Nick pointed out. “Besides, it still floats.” 

“And we’re going dark until Zylka is no longer in play.” Julian said, talking over Nick. 

“You’re doing what?” Ty demanded, voice rising.

“Be reasonable, Grady. This way there’s no tracing her, or any of your friends. I’m trying to do you a favor.” 

“Where are you taking her?” Ty growled, head pounding.

“Oh no, I am not divulging that information over the phone. There’s a reason I’ve managed to stay alive this long, you moronic beaver.” Julian said, unimpressed by Ty’s anger. Ty scoffed at the insult and glared at the phone in his hand.

“For the love of - Cross be reasonable!” Ty barked.

“I am being reasonable!” Julian yelled back.

“Alright enough, from both of you.” Zane said giving his husband a look.”Cross can you let us know at a later time your exact location?” 

“I will.” Julian promised. “You two need to get an untraceable phone and I’ll be in contact. You’re going to need Jesus for this one. Or a gun. Likely, both.”

“A lot of them, from the sound of it,” Zane said, sighing. “Keep them safe, Cross.” He murmured, and hung up the phone. 

“Zane how can you just let him do that?” Ty asked, still livid.

“Because you would do the same, hell we did do the same,” Zane sighed, rubbing his hands over Ty’s rigid shoulders to try and calm him. “Now, let’s get our things and get on the road, alright?” He asked, stepping back to where their bags were stacked. “I want to see my daughter.”

“Yeah, okay, except we don’t know where the hell she is!” Ty barked at him, fists clenching at his sides. 

“Oregon,” Zane said simply, turning to gather clothing from the floor. Ty watched him in silence, a dumbfounded expression on his face and he almost hissed. 

“Fucking Oregon, Garrett? And how the hell do you know that?” Ty asked, crossing his arms. Zane sighed and stuffed the items he’d gathered into one of the duffels and zipped it. 

“We’ll need Jesus. Or a gun. Oregon,” Zane turned to him, looking at him like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Life isn’t a god damn pun, Zane!” Ty snapped.

“He also called you a beaver,” Zane offered, walking passed him to the bathroom to get the shower bag. 

“And?” Ty called after him as he fell back on the bed, frustrated. 

“Oregon is the beaver state!” Zane called back and Ty sighed. Jesus, they were going on a blind road trip to a state clear across the country on a fucking pun.

“You’re reaching!” Ty said miserably and Zane came back into the bedroom and poked Ty’s thigh. 

“Come on, just trust me, okay? Let’s get ready,” He urged and Ty slitted his eyes at him. The annoyance was short lived however, because the bounce in Zane’s step was back and the light was beginning to resurface in his eyes with the opportunity to see their daughter again. 

“If you’re wrong, you are getting the biggest pun penalty in the history of ever,” Ty teased, sitting up and watching his husband stack the files into boxes. 

“Deal,” Zane chuckled, stacking the boxes. Ty cocked his head on a sigh and watched Zane move about the room. They hadn’t slept much in the last few days and the drive would be rough. The circles under Zane’s eyes were getting darker and Ty hadn’t looked in a mirror in a while so he could only imagine what shade his was. 

“Should we rest before we hit the road?” Ty offered. When Zane shook his head and continued to pack, Ty got up and walked up behind him, sliding a hand around his waist. “Baby, you need to sleep,” He said softly and Zane groaned, turning to Ty. 

“I can sleep on the drive. I don’t want to waste any time,” He argued and Ty rubbed a hand over the small of his back. 

“We don’t even know exactly where they took her yet. Maybe he’ll get back to us with the location-”

“We have a direction-”

“Garrett, get your ass in bed before I put you there.”

“Oh, do I hear a challenge?” Zane asked him in a lighter teasing voice.

Ty looked at him for a long moment, eyes narrowing like he was calculating something.

“Babe, what are you--”

Ty cuts him off with a hard kiss that slowly melts into something softer. It makes whatever Zane was going to tell him vanish from his mind. For a moment it’s just them and the moment they’re sharing before Ty’s hands slide a little lower and he lifts Zane up. In a moment, he’s got one arm under his knees and the other supporting his shoulder. 

“Ty, you can’t carry me!” Zane protests, trying to get his feet back on the ground. 

“Relax the bed is like three feet away, I could throw you that far.” Ty says walking over it, determined more than ever to carry his husband to bed.

“Don’t you dare.” Zane warns him. “If you throw out your back or something worse-”

“And look we’re here.” Ty says putting him down on the bed. “Challenge won I think.” He grins in victory for all about five seconds until Zane yanks him down on top of him. 

Their breaths are heavy between kisses and Zane can’t help but gasp when Ty finally pulls away. His hands rake down Ty’s back and sliding under his pants to grip his ass. Ty breaths out a light moan, grinding himself on Zane and Zane bites his lip, laying his head back and closing his eyes. 

“I need you,” He murmured and Ty bent down to kiss at his neck. His hands moved up to tangle in his curly hair and he lapped at Zane’s pulse point. 

Zane lazily wiggled beneath Ty’s body and relished in the feel of Ty’s mouth on his skin. It’d been a while since they were able to do this and Zane was desperate. 

“Lube,” He gasped, pushing at his pants. Ty chuckled, running a hand down Zane’s body and nodded. 

“So impatient,” He teased, sitting up. “I don’t need any lube, Lonestar,” He grinned, rubbing himself over Zane’s groin and Zane gasped, shaking his head. 

“No,” He murmured, gripping Ty’s muscled thighs. Ty raised an eyebrow and Zane swallowed, eyes heavy. “Want you in me,” He said quietly and Ty was immediately at attention. 

“Hell yeah,” He chuckled, crawling off him. “Let me find it,” He said. Zane nodded pushing out of his pants and pulling his shirt over his head. Ty escaped to the main area of the hotel room and cringed at the stack of bags Zane had packed. 

He grunted, pushing his pants to the ground and stepping out of them as he walked to the bags and tossed a few to the side, trying to locate the shower bag. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually found it stuffed at the bottom of one of the duffels and he grinned, pulling his shirt over his head and practically skipping back to the bedroom. 

“Found it!” He announced, bursting into the room. His victory was short lived when he was met with a naked Zane sprawled across the mattress. Snoring. 

“Dammit!” Ty cursed, dropping the lube to the ground and rolling his eyes. He was mad for just a moment before he reasoned that, hey, at least his husband was asleep. With a sad grumble, Ty crawled onto the bed, curling into Zane and trying for sleep as well. 

~*~

They were on the road just a few hours later. Ty wasn’t happy about it, not believing that those small puns that Zane had picked up was anything related to where they were located. They only let Clancy know where they were going and they left in the dead of the night, taking back roads to get out of town and then taking the highway straight West. 

“When should we stop to get the phone?” Ty asked. Zane glanced over at him from the driver’s seat and shrugged, checking the time. 

“We could do it now, get a cooler and pack up some food?” He asked. Ty nodded, looking down at the map in his lap. They had their route drawn in so they wouldn’t have to use a GPS and get tracked. 

“They stopped off an exit when they saw a sign for one of the large department/grocery stores. They purchased a cheap prepaid cell phone and got a cooler full of food and some supplies for the road. 

While Zane was getting the phone activated at one of the counters, Ty had wondered away, leaving Zane to search for him since they’d ditched their phones at home and he couldn’t call him. He ended up finding him in the baby department, looking at some of the toys and holding a small, soft stuffed tiger in his hands. Zane smiled, walking up behind him and sliding his hand around his waist. 

“Reminds me of Barnum,” Ty chuckled, turning to the cart and tossing it in. 

“She’ll love it,” Zane nodded, pressing a kiss to Ty’s temple and reaching for a bib and tilted his head. “Well that’s kind of cool,” He smiled, taking it to show Ty. Ty raised an eyebrow, turning to see what he was holding. The bib was white with purple lettering and it said “I love my daddies.”

“Shit,” Ty smiled, taking it and tossing it into the cart with the tiger. 

“We should go before we buy the whole section,” Zane urged, pushing Ty towards the check out area. 

Once they were back in the car, Ty reached for him, running his hand into Zane’s hair and pressing his lips to the corner of his mouth. Zane returned the kiss, nuzzling his cheek and smiling into the kiss. 

“When can we stop and get a room,” Ty murmured, pressing as close as he could in the cramped cab of the truck. 

“We’ve only been on the road like, five hours,” Zane laughed, letting Ty kiss his neck. 

“Really? It feels longer than that,” Ty frowned, running a hand down Zane’s chest. 

“Really? Because you’re the one that’s slept for half of it,” Zane rolled his eyes. 

“You said I could sleep!” Ty defended and Zane smiled, pressing a quick kiss to Ty’s frowning lips. Before they could really sink into it in the darkened truck, the prepaid phone began to ring. They both froze, breaking apart to stare at it. 

“Did you give anyone the number yet?” Ty asked and Zane shook his head, grabbing it to look at the incoming number. It read Unknown. 

Ty hissed, grabbing it and flipping it open. He pressed speaker and let the silence envelope them. They didn’t greet the caller, just waited. 

“Four, five, point, four, seven, four, five, four, three. Negative one, two, two, point, two, nine, one, one, eight, nine. See you soon,” Julian hung up and Ty cursed, hurrying to scribble down the numbers on a receipt that was laying near him. 

“Coordinates?” Zane asked, and Ty jerked a nod, looking down at the numbers. 

“Why didn’t he just text it?” He asked. 

“No digital evidence of the location?” Zane said and Ty nodded again. 

“We need a computer,” Ty muttered. 

They made sure to drive for another few hours before stopping at a hotel and getting room under anonymous names.

“I’m going to go find a computer,” Zane said once they were locked behind their door. Ty nodded, heading for the shower. 

The hotel didn’t have a any computers for guest use, so Zane made his way to the lobby, peaking around the wall of the hallway to watch as the receptionist disappeared behind a door behind the counter. Zane waited a moment until he heard typing coming from the room and the phone ring. The man began to talk and after a moment, Zane slipped to the counter, leaning over the top and turning the reception computer to him. 

He quickly navigated to a mapping site and typed in the coordinates. Location information and directions appeared on the screen and he listened closely to the man in the office to make sure he was still occupied. He hit print when the man was still on the phone and let the few pages print to the reception printer. He heard the call end in the other room and quickly exited out of the browser and took the printed directions from the printer on the counter just as the receptionist walked back in. 

“Oh, hello, can I help you?” He asked Zane and Zane nodded, giving a smile. 

“Yes, sorry, we needed an extra pillow,” He said. The man nodded, disappearing to the back again and bringing out another pillow. 

“Anything else I can get you?” He asked. Zane shook his head, giving him a nod and retreated to the hallway that led to the stairs. 

Ty was out of the shower by the time he returned and he help up the directions as soon as he saw him. 

“Oregon,” He confirmed and Ty rolled his eyes. 

“Fucking puns,” He muttered, shaking his head and plopping on the bed naked. 

~*~

By the second night on the road, they were about to kill each other. 

“This is brutal, why didn’t we just get a flight, Jesus Christ,” Ty muttered, waking up again from a nap. He couldn’t sleep with the car moving. Too many noises and movements. Being confined in the small cab of the truck left him feeling grimey and trapped.

“You know why, Ty,” Zane sighed, running a hand through his hair while he switched lanes to pass a slower vehicle. 

“Can we take a break?” Ty asked, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes. 

“We stopped three hours ago,” Zane argued, not looking at him. Ty glared at his husband, irritated more than he’d usually be if he wasn’t trapped in the fucking car. 

“Pull over,” Ty said lowly. Zane glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow and shook his head. 

“Let’s go one more hour and we’ll stop for food,” Zane said, unaffected by the irritated spark in Ty’s eyes. 

“Zane, I need to move,” Ty growled, turning his body fully to his husband, Zane shook his head, refusing. “Zane, I will do anything if you just pull the fucking truck over. I need to get out.” Ty was letting the warm simmer of anger bubble in his belly and when Zane’s lip quirked up a little, Ty decided to play dirty. 

Ty took his seatbelt off, jamming his thumb into the release loudly, making Zane look at him, eyebrow raised. Ty leaned over the middle of the cab, sliding his hand from Zane’s knee all the way to his groin, cupping him through his jeans. 

“Jesus,” Zane cursed, swerving a bit. 

“Pull over.”

“Ty!” Zane shouted, squirming under Ty’s unwavering grip. He got the truck under control and held the wheel with two hands, glaring at the road. 

“Pull over,” Ty said again, working at Zane’s zipper. When it was released, Ty reached into Zane’s boxers and pulled him out, half hard already. 

“Ty, put it back or so help me,” Zane growled, still glaring at the road. Ty smirked, bending his head and licking at the head. The truck jerked again, making Ty grip Zane’s legs and he swiftly took him into his mouth. 

Immediately the truck swerved to the right, coming to a violent stop and Zane slammed it into park, his hands leaving the wheel to dive into Ty’s hair. His breaths were harsh now, Ty practically sucking the tension of the last couple days straight out from his cock. 

“Come here,” Zane whispered, glancing out the window to make sure the passing cars were doing just that: Passing.

Ty pulled off him with a pop of his lips and replaced his mouth with his hand, twisting his wrist as he worked Zane just the way he knew drove him crazy. Zane’s hands were still in his hair and he pulled him up to kiss him, running his tongue over his lips and tasting himself there. Ty smiled into the kiss, pumping Zane harder and faster and letting Zane kiss him as he pleased. It didn’t take long for Zane’s thread to snap and Ty pulled away from Zane’s lips just in time to move back down and catch his orgasm, licking and sucking until Zane was pleading and twitching from the aftershocks. 

Ty slowly pulled of, wiping his sleeve against his mouth. A move that made Zane’s spent cock twitch. He was breathing hard and staring just as Ty winked and hopped out of the cab. 

“Dammit!” Zane cursed, letting his head thunk back against the seat while Ty stretched along the side of the road, satisfied. 

~*~

As the trip goes on, the weather turns worse as they drive out of their final tiny motel on the outskirts of Boring. They had decided to switch after their last little stop, Ty fared better when he was behind the wheel.

“I wonder if they realized how absolutely fucking right they were about their town when they named it.” Ty said dully as the gray landscape outside got washed into a grayer still haze by the rain.

“Mmm maybe they were trying to be ironic.” Zane mumbled from where he was leaning sleepily on the passenger side window.

“You really must be tired because there had to be like a million puns you could have made right now.” Ty told him glancing from the road to Zane and smiling.

“Not as tired as the car.” Zane said with a hint of glee as he watched Ty realize what he said.

“Oh come on that was terrible and you know it.” 

“I know a lot of things.” Zane agreed easily, he glanced at their folded up map, they didn’t want to risk using the GPS on this one, further proof that maybe just maybe Julian Cross had rubbed off on them. “You’ve got a turn coming up in-”

“Two miles I know.” Ty said mentally counting the distance.

“Well now look who's smart.” Zane said sitting up and abandoning the idea of napping in the car. They should reach the place by nightfall if it all went right.

Two absolutely uneventful hours pass as they drive on. There’s really no way of telling if the sun’s still up or not by the time the tires hit the wet gravel of the path that leads off the main roads. 

“We should have done this earlier, like when we could actually see.” Zane said tired and unamused by their surroundings.

“No kidding, I’ve seen horror movies set in places cheerier than this.” Ty agrees slowing the car so he doesn't skidd on the slight curve in the road. 

It takes them ten more minutes to catch sight of the light coming from the house up ahead, it should be a welcome sight but after years in the field it makes them both a little wary. Technically it should be safe to walk up to the door and just knock but by some unspoken agreement they kill the lights early and get out of the car and into the evening rain like it’s a mission. 

“I’m actually wondering if we need to go in guns blazing.” Ty whispered. 

The door opens, spilling out warm light and they hear Julian’s voice a moment later.

“For the love of all that’s Holy, Grady this isn’t Special Ops, get yourselves inside.” He yells at them then turns around leaving the door open. There’s a stunned moment of silence before they move to grab their things. Ty picked up on a low click, so quiet that had pe opened the car door a few seconds sooner he would have missed it. 

“Paranoid much Cross?” He said quietly. 

“Hurry up you’re letting in moths and mosquitos!” Julian yelled from the doorway, almost like he had heard Ty. 

It’s a quick trip in, Zane almost breaking his ankle over a large orange cat who looks a little too pleased to see him again, in a vicious loathing sort of way. It’s also weird to see the normally professional Julian Cross wearing a button down and jeans. The cabin is spacious but homey, which considering who lived there was a bit surprising. 

There’s a sigh of relief when Ty spots both Nick and Kelly lounging in the kitchen with a delt deck of cards. 

“You!” He barks at Nick giving him a look, which causes Nick to put a hand to his chest and pull off a theatrical expression like Ty has hurt him deeply. Kelly on the other hand drops his head onto the table and starts laughing, throwing his cards down.

“I told you he’d take it like this!” Nick yelled at Julian.

“So you did, good for you.” Julian deadpanned walking past them all like it was an ordinary thing.

“Thank God you’re alright.” Ty says breaking into a grin and just like that all the extra worry and tension seemed to melt away. 

“Hey guys.” Zane said walking over to stand by Ty. They returned his greeting, it’s easy to tell that despite their worries everything was alright here. The sound of soft footfalls on the stairs brings their attention to the other side of the cabin where Cameron was walking carefully down with Evie in his arms. As he nears them, Evie scans the room, her big eyes landing on Zane first and her mouth opens on a demanding cry, her little body squirming in Cam’s arms. 

He and Ty both start forward towards him, moving more or less in synch with one thing in mind. 

“Good to see you two made it alright.” Cameron says quietly handing Evie over to Zane. She curls into Zane’s large body and buries her chubby face into his chest, gripping at his shirt. When Ty runs a hand over her back, she turns her face towards him, still pressed to Zane, and reaches one hand for Ty to press his own face to. “She’s been a bit fussy since she got here, obviously she missed you both.” 

“Hey sweetie, it’s ok we’re here now, your daddy and I drove all the way out to Oregon to see you.” Ty whispered to her, nuzzeling her fingers and moving in closer to bury his nose in her hair. 

“Thank you for doing this Cameron.” Zane thanked him and then meeting Julian’s eyes from across the room he added “Thank you both.” 

Ty pressed a kiss to her forehead then pulled them both in tight, letting himself have one moment to pretend that they were all safe and a family with nothing to worry about. When they finally break apart, he notices Cameron looking at them with a soft expression. Julian walked over to him and just rolled his eyes at the whole thing. 

“Cross I have a bone to pick with you.” Ty says, not without malice. He’s still pissed and rightfully so. 

Julian throws Cameron a look that’s practically begging him to get him out of this situation. 

“Oh no you don’t, you made the decision to drag their one year old and friends cross-country without any warning, you get to deal with it now.” Cameron said looking unimpressed with Julian’s pleading glance. “Zane why don’t I show you around while these two. . . figure their crap out.”

“That sounds good, thanks.” Zane says rocking Evie as she dozed.

“I swear if I hear a firearm go off, both of you are sleeping outside tonight.” Cameron tells them as they left the room.

“Noted.” Ty said still glaring daggers at Julian. 

“I don’t suppose an apology would suffice to get this over with and done?” Julian asked. 

When Ty shook his head once, Julian rolled his eyes again and sat down gesturing for Ty to do the same. Almost immediately after, a streak of orange shot out from under the coffee table and onto the couch beside Ty. The cat sniffed him cautiously before butting his head against Ty’s hand and beginning a deep rumbly purr.

“Hey buddy, where’s your brother?” Ty asked the cat. 

“Wesson, you filthy traitor.” Julian accused the cat while the other wound around his ankles loyally. 

“At least one of them has good taste.” Ty said looking up from the cat to look at Julian.

There was an awkward pause before Julian broke it to explain.”Grady I had no intention of dragging your friends and daughter out here, originally I was going to go to O’Flaherty for information. I’ve had past experiences with these people so when I realized that she was Markov’s daughter I made the most logical choice at that time and safety would allow.”

“I know.” Ty told him.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I know why, and honestly it’s what I would have done, but there’s no denying that it scared the shit out of both of us. Leaving here, even with Nick and Kelly, was hard and now she was off God knows how much farther from us? After all we went through to be able to bring her home? That was what’s been wearing us down. Let’s not forget that on top of it all we still have some of the most dangerous men either one of us ever faced, hell bent on taking her from us.” Ty let it all tumble out, keeping his eyes on the cat and scratching under his chin. 

“That is difficult. For what it’s worth, I am sorry it happened that way.” Julian offered, a little uncomfortable. In all the time he has known Tyler, they were never a pair to get along. 

“Thanks.” Ty sighed, turning to meet his eyes. There was more gratitude there than he could ever put into words and Julian nodded. 

They’re quiet for a second before Kelly’s voice rings out from the kitchen doorway. “In your face O’Flaherty!” He yelled.Both of them look over to Kelly confused. 

“Come on man, what were the odds?” Nick asked 

“If you can’t pay up, I’ll gladly accept-”

“Nope no no no nope.” Nick cut him off putting on hand over Kelly’s mouth to stop him speaking further.

“Hold on were you two taking bets in me and Cross fighting?” Ty asked, watching Kelly try to dance away from Nick. 

“Well it was better than trying to place bets with cards against someone who’s Lucky… all the time.” Kelly said managing to get away for a second.

“I suspect he cheats, tho I’m still trying to figure out how.” Julian said eyeing them both.

“Nah he’s literally just lucky and good at holding a pokerface.” Ty said watching the two struggle further, before inevitably Kelly managed to unbalance Nick. 

“Ok fine you win this one!” Nick told him putting his hands up in surrender. ”Seriously, Kels you win.” He sighed, trying not to smile at the man. 

“That’s what I like to hear,” Kelly said offering Nick his hand to get up from the floor. 

Zane and Cam returned to the living room not long after that and they all settled into the furniture while Cam brought out drinks. Julian swatted at him to sit and the other man merely rolled his eyes and helped all their guests before taking a seat beside his husband while the larger man explained everything he knew in detail. 

Ty was now holding Evie in his arms, playing a game they had begun before they were forced to leave her with Nick. Their hands blurring and gently slapping while she giggled with each triumph. She was smart. Too smart, for her age. Zane smiled sadly down at her as Julian spoke, trying to process how great of a danger this situation really was. Of course he knew it was high. There was a trail of bodies already, but the confirmation was jarring.

As the night wore on, the house settled into an off comfort. Nick was watching a baseball game with Cam and Julian while Kelly played with Evie on the floor.

Ty sat on the couch, his body curled into Zane’s and he could feel the sleepy twitches coming off his husband. It wasn’t very late, but the moon was high and Zane could feel the exhaustion from the past few days hitting him between the eyes. 

“You want to go lay down?” Ty asked softly, playing with Zane’s hand. Zane rolled her neck and sighed, nodding. 

“Don’t want to leave her yet. I’ll wait until she’s ready for bed,” He murmured, watching Evie latch onto Kelly’s growing hair and pull his face towards her’s. 

Ty laid his head on Zane’s shoulder, his arm curling around Zane’s larger one as he tangled into him. With the comfort of each other, Zane almost nodded off. 

“Bed,” Ty whispered into his ear, waking him. Zane’s eyes opened and found the clock above the fireplace. It was half past eight. 

“Eve,” He mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Ty pulled him up. The room was empty now and it made his stomach flutter nervously, not knowing the locations of their housemates. 

“She’s in bed already. I came to get you after I laid her down,” Ty said, lacing their fingers and leading Zane up the stairs. The halls were dark, but Ty found the room at the end of the hall. A low lamp was lit near the bed and Evie was sleeping in the center, her little fingers pushed into her mouth. They stripped down to their boxers in silence before crawling into the bed, Ty on her left, Zane on her right. They curled around her as she sighed in contentment, one of those little hands falling onto Ty’s chest. 

Zane reached over her, tugging at Ty’s waist and pulling him close. Their foreheads pressed and Zane closed his eyes as Ty ran a hand up his arm, brushing his fingers over his shoulder. 

“Sleep, Zane,” Ty whispered. 

“Love you,” Zane mumbled, letting his body relax. He heard the distant murmur of Ty’s answering love as he drifted.


	6. Close

Zane wakes up slowly, the sun warm on his skin and his body completely relaxed in the large, fluffy bed. He sighs, moving his muscles a little, stretching and cracking joints. He knows he’s alone before he opens his eyes and when he does, the sun is high and hot streaming through the window. 

“Hey,” Ty says softly from the other side of the room. He’s pulling a shirt over his head,hair damp from his shower. Zane nods at him, yawning a little. 

“What time is it?” He asks, rolling over to bury his face in Ty’s pillow. 

“Noon,” Ty chuckled. Zane felt the bed dip as Ty crawled up and over him and he plopped down, spreading himself lazily over Zane’s back. He pressed his lips to the back of Zane’s neck and nuzzled there. 

“Evie?” Zane inquired, loving the relaxation that came with his husband’s body pressed to his. 

“Cam has her,” He said. “Woke up about five hours ago.”

“Damn,” Zane grumbled, rolling over and taking Ty with him so that he was laying on him. 

“You haven’t slept much, you needed to sleep in,” Ty said, running his fingers down Zane’s cheek and rubbing his thumb over his lip. Zane smiled, letting his eyes shut and Ty angled up to press his lips to Zane’s. 

“When this is over, we’re getting a house in the middle of nowhere like this and never leaving,” Ty breathed, running his hands over Zane’s back. 

“You’ll go crazy without take out,” Zane smiled. 

“True,” Ty smiled just as there was a knock on the door. 

“Yeah,” Zane called, laying his head back on his pillow. Kelly poked his head in and nodded, smiling a little. 

“She’s getting restless,” He said and Ty nodded. He smiled, sitting up and pulling Zane with him. 

“You need to come see something,” He said softly and let Zane pull a shirt over his head. 

He followed them downstairs towards the soft murmurs in the living room. Ty gave him one last smile before leading him into the room and picking up Evie right away. Her face went from restless to smiles in an instant and when she laid eyes on Zane, her eyes lit up and she reached for him. 

“Daaah da,” She squeaked and Zane’s heart stopped and Ty beamed and everything stopped for just that moment.

“Hey there sweetheart,” He said, reaching for her. She said it again excitedly as he held her. It was an incredible feeling, one that he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“Well it’s not “Uncle Kelly” but it’s a start.” Kelly said to Cameron who laughed as they walked into the kitchen. 

“She’s going to be so spoiled, I swear.” Cameron told them as they followed him in. 

In the kitchen Nick and Julian were already occupying half the table with plates of food and papers. Julina glanced up as they walked in and went back to whatever it was they were doing after a quick “Hello”.

Evie spoke up suddenly when she saw all of them in the room. “Semmm'ya daaa da! Sem’ya!” 

Zane would have brushed it off as babby babble but both Ty and Julian turned to look at her in surprise.

“Did she just?” Julian asked a little surprised. 

“What did she say?” Nick asked Ty, catching on to what happened.

Zane looked over to see Ty’s face go through a mix of emotions before settling on joy. 

“Family. Our little russian princess just recognized her family.” He said then leaned in and whispered something slowly to her. Her response was immediate, she gave him a serious nod then turned back to Zane and said as best as she could “Moy papa.” 

Zane didn’t need Ty to translate that for him. 

It was a perfect moment, only interrupted by Julian clearing his throat after a few minutes. 

“As adorable as that was we do have a few more pressing matters at hand.” 

“Evie can you say “Otvali” to-”

“Ty I swear to God if you’re teaching her to swear in Russian I will kick your ass so fast.” Zane warned. 

“ANYWAY.” Nick broke in. “We need to figure out what to do next, we can’t just sit here forever waiting until they find us or hope they give up.

Ty gave him an affectionately annoyed look before agreeing. He sat down on the empty kitchen bench, motioning for Zane to join him. 

“Zane I can take her up to nap if you’d like.” Cameron said from where he was sitting. 

“Nah it’s alright I’ll take her up in a moment,” Zane said, Cameron nodded easily seeing that Zane wanted as much time as he could get with his daughter before they had to leave again.

“You two plan to leave in a few days,” Julian said looking up for confirmation form Ty and Zane, continuing on when Ty nodded. “We’ll be back in contact once you make it back to Baltimore, can’t risk it otherwise. In fact I wouldn’t even recommend you two calling anyone while on the road unless you run into trouble.”

“You two have all your usual places secured and under surveillance, it’s a good start but we’ll need to get ahead of Zylka if we want to have a fighting chance.” 

“How do you propose doing that?” Kelly asked poring over the files on the table, carefully studying the details.

“Bait and switch babe.” Nick said grinning at him. 

“We’ll drop a fake trail up towards D.C and another down to Atlanta, get Zylka cornered as quickly as we can afford to.” Julian continued laying out the plan. 

“Why two?”

“Think about how Zylka was trained. One false trail might seem like an obvious trap, the second would seem like the actual thing, like a spilled secret.” Ty realized and nodded in agreement with the plan. 

“The only thing I don’t like about this is it means we’re splitting up.” Kelly pointed out. 

“That means Zylka and his allies have to do the same right?” Cameron said. “They know one trail is a fake but not which one, they’d have to assume either one could be the real thing.” 

Julian actually beamed at him. “Right and if She’s still working with him it means a lesser chance of running into both of them. 

“God I hope this works.” Nick muttered under his breath. 

“It will.” Kelly said with a confidence that seemed to ease a bit of the stress in the room, he had a funny way of being able to do that.

~*~

Later in the day, Ty broke away from the house, needing to breath. He couldn’t sit still for too long. Evie was napping and Zane was reading his book. He needed out. 

“The river isn’t too far from here,” Nick said from behind him as he headed for the woods. Ty paused, nodding over his shoulder for Nick to follow. They walked in silence, enjoying the hike through the growth and peace of silence and earth. It reminded him of home. 

Ty could feel him watching him. Their conversation from on The Fiddler still lingering between them in an uncomfortable blanket. They made it to the river and Ty sat on the bank, waiting for him to start. 

“That little girl is fucking perfect,” Nick started. Ty snorted, not expecting that exactly. He nodded, digging into his pocket for a cigar he brought with him. 

“Yeah it’s like she was meant for us.”

“Fate,” Nick murmured, plopping down beside him. 

“Something like that,” Ty said, lighting the cigar and taking a puff. He handed it over to Nick. 

“Don’t get yourself killed,” Nick said softly, holding the cigar between his fingers. He didn’t look at Ty, but he saw him nod out of the corner of his eye. 

“I’m going to try,” He said. 

“Are you?” Nick asked. Ty glanced over at him, glaring. 

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” He hissed. 

“Don’t make me bury you, Ty. I’ll kill you.” 

Ty laughed again, despite the heavy feeling in his chest. 

“I said what I said because there’s always a chance, Irish. I’m not suicidal.” 

“No, but you’d sacrifice yourself without a thought.” Ty swallowed and sighed, of course Nick had a point there. It wasn’t a something he really planned out or even thought about but he knew that if it came down to it he’d do it. Take a bullet, knife, burning building or whatever else came down on them. And he’d do it without hesitation. 

“There’s always a third option. You just gotta make sure you’re alive to take it.” Nick said watching him thoughtfully. “‘Sides we’ve always been stronger as a team, we’re all gonna make it through this.” He paused then clapped Ty on the shoulder in effort to lighten the mood. “Trust me a year or so from now we’ll be giving you grief for it and making jokes.”

Ty let himself smile slightly. “I’m counting on it Irish.”

~*~

.Baltimore.

“You know what I hate about stakeouts and surveillance work?” Perrimore asked swirling the last dregs of coffee around the bottom of his cup.

“The fact that you can’t sit still or go without coffee for more than three hours apparently?” Clancy asked looking at the collection of cups at the edge of his desk. 

“Granted.” He said throwing a few of them in the trash. “Mostly it’s the waiting for something that might not even happen-

“Here we go.” She said glancing at the screen to confirm and getting up. A moment later a tiny light by the switchboard confirmed what she had seen on the monitors. Someone had broken into the bookstore and set off the silent alarm. 

“How long until BPD gets here?” Clancy’s newly assigned partner asked. 

“They won’t show unless we request them, we’re trying to keep this quiet.” She told him none too thrilled with the idea. 

“Right.” Bastian said reaching for his own gun. “Call it.” He had transferred over to Baltimore right after Zane had left, and been happily partnered with Clancy for several months now. 

“Perrimore you’re here for now, call in backup if you think there’s need for it.” She grabbed the door handle and looked at her partner. “You and me take the two primary entrances, sweep around back Bastian.” 

“Got it.” He said with an easy nod. 

“I’m calling McCoy in on this if you’re gone more than five minutes.” Parrimore said throwing his cup aside and moving to the switch board. 

“We’ll be done in three.” Clancy said with just a hint of humor as she and Bastian exited the van they had parked a little ways from the bookstore. 

It was dark enough out that both of them needed a moment to adjust. Without really needing to they split off silently heading towards different parts of the building. Bastian might have been a recent transfer to the department but he worked rather well with Clancy and the rest of the department. 

As she neared the front door she noticed one of the smaller window panes had damage on it. Deep gouges dug in like a cheap burglar’s tool. Apparently who ever had broken in didn’t do high tech. “This isn’t a Bond movie.” she told herself and crept in through the cracked door. Something felt off, almost immediately it registered that the place was far too quiet, even if someone had heard them and tried to run off or hide there should have been some indicator of it. 

Steeling herself she walked carefully forward knowing they weren’t hiding from her. They were waiting. 

A sound like a marble dropping on a wooden floor caught her attention and she turned out of reflex not to where the noise came from but directly away from it just in time to throw her hand up to stop their intruder’s arm from coming down with a small blade. 

The tip of it nicked her collarbone and she hissed through her teeth as she fell to her back, the body of the intruder coming down on her. She grunted, squirming and straining against his arm and she was able to get her knee between them and kick him off, but as he stumbled back, his arm came down and plunged the knife through the meat of her thigh. 

“Fuck!” She shouted, reaching for the blade and jerking it out. She heard Bastian yell from the back of the bookstore and she flipped the handle of the knife in her palm and rushed the guy. He had another knife in his hand and he matched her movements when she attempted her attack. 

“Who are you,” She growled, eyeing him. He was young, dark hair, dark eyes. He shook his head, rearing back and rolling into her with his shoulder, her hand with the blade getting trapped between him and the wall. She struggled, panic slowly creeping into her system and she grappled with her free arm to jab his pressure point. When he dropped, so did her knife and she went to straddle him, pinning his legs down and trying to get control of his hands, but he was able to punch her in the ribs, bruising them and making her breath catch. 

“Dude, I don’t want to kill you, who the fuck are you-” 

She stopped, pain shooting through her abdomen. He shook his head at her, a smile playing on his lips as he jerked his blade from her stomach. Her vision blurred and he rolled her off him, looming over her. He held his hand up with the blade one last time for the final blow and everything went dark. 

~*~

Zane smiled down at Evie’s lovely face while she spread her mashed banana all over the tray of her high chair. He shook his head at her, pursing his lips and she giggled, throwing a handful at him. He gasped loudly and she laughed louder as he cleaned off. 

“Trouble maker is what you are,” He clucked, taking a rag to her face and she squirmed, trying to get away. When she was mostly clean, Zane bent to pick her up and she went willingly, reaching for his face and mumbling “dahdee” over and over and it warmed him from head to toe. 

“That’s right, princess,” He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. She smiled, latching onto his nose and sucking while he laughed. 

“This is going in Ma’s scrapbook,” Ty said from the door and Zane turned a little just as Ty put the phone away in his pocket from taking a photo. 

“I’m okay with that,” Zane smiled, accepting a kiss from Ty when he walked up to them. He turned to Evie and rubbed a hand over her back while she laid her head on Zane’s chest. 

“I don’t want to leave her again,” Ty whispered and Zane frowned sadly, nodding. 

“Me either, but our team is on their own right now. And the cats are going to run out of food soon.” 

“Have you talked to Clancy or Perrimore lately? Any news?” Ty asked, backing away as Zane scooped up Evie’s stuffed animal from the floor and began to head for their room to put her down for a nap. 

“Nothing yet. I didn’t want to risk being tracked, but I need to get an update soon,” Zane sighed, finally reaching their room and setting her in the pack and play that was stuffed with toys and pillows. She fussed a moment, but Zane ran a hand through her hair and whispered softly to her and she settled, pouting at him and closing her eyes. 

“We could use whatever off the grid shit Julian has,” Ty suggested and Zane nodded, leading him out of the room so they wouldn’t disturb her. 

They found the others scattered on the back porch. Ty sat beside Nick and Kelly and Zane approached their host. 

“How is the she?” Julian asked.

“Sleeping. I was thinking about checking in back home, see how the investigation was doing, but I figured you would have a special phone or something for me to use so we’re not tracked.”

“Not a very intelligent idea,” Julian sighed. “Even my phone is trackable. You should just get updates when you are there,” He told him. Zane hesitated, his eyes dark with worry and Julian shot a glance towards his husband. Cameron gave him a sad look and Julian sighed. “Come with me, no calls longer than a sixty seconds.”

The first call is frustrating, after a full minute of nothing but the dial tone, Zane gives up on getting through to Clancy. McCoy is no better which sends a spike of worry through both of them. 

“Damit, McCoy knows this is important, why the hell won’t he answer?” Zane grumbled out handing the phone back to Julian. 

“We can try Perrimore later if you think he’s more likely to pick up.” Ty said. “What we really need to do is get back there and get this motherfuc-”

“Language.”

“She’s asleep Zane and fine, this _suka, blyad_. Happy now?” 

“Not particularly but that I get the feeling that won’t wear off until this is all over.” Zane told him, letting the words go. 

“I know, come on lets grab our stuff, see her again quickly and head out. We can probably get a good six hours in today if we try.” Ty told him running a hand down his arm soothingly. 

Zane nodded and followed him up to their room. Whatever bit of calm they had managed to get while hidden here couldn’t last forever, they had to go face this before it was too late.

She woke up the moment they walked into the room, almost like she was waiting for them. Zane picked her up first, holding her to his chest and nuzzeling her hair. He whispered things to her and she gripped his beard in her tiny fists and held him close, making small noises and coos. After a moment, he handed her to Ty and she curled into Ty’s embrace like she was made to fit there. He held her silently while she drifted in and out of sleep and he sighed, sitting down on the bed and letting Zane sit beside him and run his hand over his back. He watched her face for a while, memorizing the shape of it and how beautiful she was. How wonderful and alive she was sleeping in his arms. She blinked her eyes a few times, looking at him to make sure he was still there, tangling little hands in his shirt. It nearly broke Ty’s heart to put her back down, pressing a small kiss to her head and stepping back without another word. Zane took his hand, leading him out as the fussing from the bedroom became louder and Ty let out a shuddering breath as Zane pulled him into his arms to hold him. 

“Why do I feel like a horrible parent for leaving her here where it’s safe?” Ty whispered into Zane’s shirt, clinging to him. 

“We’ll make it up to her as soon as it’s safe.” Zane answered feeling the same thing, the only upside he could see at this moment was that she was as safe as they could hope to get her given the situation, hopefully that would all change soon. 

~*~

The drive from Oregon to Baltimore is a long forty-two hours. They take turns driving through the heartland of America. Somewhere in the back of Ty’s mind there’s a thought, that maybe under different circumstances this would have made a really cool family trip. Now however they’re avoiding all the big cities and major highways near them. The odds are that Zylka doesn't have any eyes this far west but they don’t even chance it. The closer they get to the East Coast the more Ty can see the anxiety settle into Zane’s eyes, he doesn't say anything because he’s sure Zane sees the same in his. They briefly considered air travel once they reach Missouri but it would be easier to remain off the grid entirely if they wanted to keep under the radar. By the time they reached Indiana almost three days later they were both uncomfortable with the lack of communication from either side. Neither Julian nor the team from the Bureau had been in contact for the last thirty some odd hours and it felt more and more like something had gone wrong while they had been gone. 

“You think it’s safe to call from here?” Ty asked tiredly as they pulled into the lot of another road side motel. 

“No idea but more than likely no. Unless you call from a payphone maybe.” Zane said grabbing his duffle from the car.

“It’s going to drive us both off the wall if we keep going on nothing but dial tones and radio silence.” Ty said looking at his phone for any messages before shutting it off. 

“Try it again in the morning babe, if there was anything really important they’d find a way to let us know, you need sleep.” Zane told him holding the door to their room open for Ty. 

“I suppose. As much as I hate being overwhelmed by the shit going on around me being cut off from it all isn’t any better. It reminds me too much of going dark for Burns.” Ty admitted sadly. He felt Zane’s hand brush down his spine in comfort as he walked passed him. 

“This time tomorrow we’ll be back in Baltimore and you’ll be back on top of the situation again, now come on both of us need at least four hours before we can get back behind the wheel.” 

That got a small smile out of Ty. “What would I do without you?” He asked walking into the room. Zane smiled softly, shrugging and tossing his duffel on the floor near the bed. 

“Probably adopt too many cats and drown in the litter.” 

“True,” Ty sighed, eyeing his husband thoughtfully. “Wanna shower?” He asked and Zane peaked over at him, a smile playing on his lips. 

“Two days too long Meow Mix?” He asked. 

“No, you just stink,” Ty clipped, stalking to the bathroom with a smirk. Zane chuckled behind him and Ty left the door open while he started the water and stripped. He kept it warm, not too hot. The spray was wonderful on his aching muscles and once he was in, he pushed his head up under the shower head and held his breath, loving the way the water completely consuming his head. It blocked out all the sound and hysteria that was sitting at the edges of his mind. 

He didn’t hear him, but soon Zane was pressing up behind him, wet skin sliding against wet skin. His hands came around Ty’s abdomen and held him close, pushing his head under the spray with Ty’s.

They didn’t speak. Zane silently washed his hair first, then while Ty was enjoying the warmth of the shower, he took the shampoo and lathered up Ty’s head for him. His fingers massaged his scalp and he hummed, loving when his husband did this. 

They rinsed together, eyes closed. Zane pressed a kiss to Ty’s temple, hugging him, letting the other man lean on him while he shut off the cooling water. 

Zane took the towel and dried Ty first, rubbing over his skin and wrapping him up warmly. He lead him to the bedroom, pushing him onto the bed in the dim light. 

“Zane,” Ty whispered and Zane met his eyes. There was love there, but there was also uncertainty and fear. Ty knew what he was feeling. Because he felt it too. Without replying, Zane leaned over him, pressing his lips to Ty’s, hands gliding up Ty’s naked torso. Ty breathed him in, reaching for him and pulling him down to the bed with him. Their bodies pressed together and for a moment, there was no urgency. They just held one another, pressing together and just needing. Zane held him close, hugging him tightly and burying his face in Ty’s wet hair. His breathing was shuddered and unsure and he clenched his eyes shut against the fear and upset deep in his gut and he just held his husband for what seemed like hours. 

“We’ll get through this,” He whispered. Ty nodded, pulling his face back to see Zane’s. He ran a hand down his cheek and pulled him down to kiss him, drinking him in and tasting every part of him. 

They made love in the dimness of the motel room. It wasn’t rushed or demanding. It was slow and lazy and intimate. It was needed, it was warm and welcome and trusting. 

With tangled hands and heavy breaths, they fell asleep pressed to one another. Because once they got back to Baltimore, there wasn’t a guarantee that they both would make it. This was bigger than anything they’d faced. There was fear in this, more than anything. This was pure need and love and a last statement for each other. Just in case. 

It was unspoken. It was pure. It was everything. 

 

The fifth ring was when someone finally picked up, Ty almost thanked them out loud, he had been torn between annoyance and worry as the phone kept ringing. After not being able to get through the night before he was getting desperate for news. 

“This is Agent Sinclair-” A tired masculine voice answered the line. 

“Bastian?” Ty asked surprised, he had been expecting McCoy, or at the very least Perrimore. Bastian and Clancy were suppose to be watching their house.

“Yeah, I’m assuming this is Ty right?” He asked there was a bit of feedback fuzz on the line making it hard for him to hear Bastian clearly.

“It is, how’s everything?” Ty inquired hoping the static sound would fade. 

“Not good, listen Clancy’s in the hospital, she’d ok now but we got-” Ty held the phone for a precious few seconds longer then threw it down in frustration. The call had dropped and his hope for decent information with it. As freaking annoying as it was he wasn’t going to risk calling again. What he was going to do was get home to fix all of this, and fast.  
~*~

“We got word back from Baltimore and you’re not going to like it.” Cameron said walking back in with Kelly. They had gone to an airport cafe to send an email to the Baltimore FBI and CIA branches, what they got back was none too pleasant.

“What happened?”

“They caught one of Zylka’s at the bookstore last night and apparently along with trashing their place up a bit he put one of the agents in ICU.” Kelly spit out.

“Did he get away with it?”

“No her partner brought the fucker in, he’s talking so they’re keeping him under protection, for now.” 

“Yeah until she’s out of the hospital.” Kelly muttered livid.

“That’s when it goes from bad to worse.” Cameron said hesitating.

“Basically what it boils down to is that it’s gotten too quiet in Baltimore, they think that Zylka might have gotten wind of them somewhere else and decided to make a sudden move. . . and their little prisoner pretty much confirmed it.”

“Mac Soith.” Julian hissed, they had planned to start the trek back towards the east coast as soon as Garrett and Grady were safely back there waiting for them. That might not be an option now. Somewhere in all this mess he should have started wondering when the hell he started actually caring about these men. Too late for that now, he was in this for the long haul and there were more pressing matters to attend to. 

“And the fucking icing on the cake is that no one has been able to get a hold of Ty and Zane after that first call.” Kelly said ready to kick the closest unoccupied chair, he felt pretty damn useless at the moment. “They have no idea that Zylka’s going after them, all they got was a message that someone broke in and hurt one of their own.

“They’re going to drive right into their hands trying to get back home to help them..” 

“I’m borrowing your phone Cross.” Nick told him grabbing the untraceable from the table. “They’re flying blind right now it’s too dangerous.” There was an unspoken confirmation that passed between all of them, regardless of the danger it might potentially put the rest of them in Ty and Zane were priority now. 

“Fine, you know the rules for that thing, and get some distance before you use it.” He said watching Nick fiddle with the phone for a moment.

After trying to get in contact with them proved fruitless they started looking for other alternatives. In a moment of desperation Julian offered to see if they could get a remote ping from one of their cell phones, provided it was possible at the time. He hadn’t used the tech in a while but once it was up and running he could narrow it down to their general location with relative ease. What stopped him short was the second set of serials at the bottom of the screen, left carelessly unmasked. As bad as it was Julian wanted to thank God for the Russian bastard’s negligence or hubris, whichever. 

“Someone else is pinging them.” Julian realized then glanced at their coordinates and committed them to memory quickly. There was no question now, they were being tracked and cut off on purpose, that’s why O’Flaherty’s calls hadn’t gone through, and that’s why things had suddenly gone quiet in Baltimore.

“Can’t you scramble the signal, or shut it off completely?” Nick demanded.

“Yes, but that might ruin the only advantage here. So long as they think they’re the only ones tracking them unnoticed they keep playing predictably.”

“So scrambling it might let them know that we know and go after them sooner?”

“Exactly, and that’s the last thing we need now, especially being so far away from them and out of contact.” Julian said starting a new program. “We can however see if a back tracer works on them.” 

“That still does nothing to get them any help, as much faith as I have in their skills this isn’t a fair situation, if they get ambushed or something . . .” Kelly said trailing off.

“I might have an idea.” Nick said grabbing his phone and keys, if he was going to do this he needed to be in a place where he could safely make a call.

“Want to enlighten the rest of us with it?” Julian asked.

“Yeah we’re bringing the rest of the team on this.” Nick said walking out the door with Kelly right behind him. Digger might be a bit too far out to join them right away but Owen wasn’t. If this Alexander Zylka thought he could try to hurt anyone of the team he had a whole new thing coming. 

~*~

Ty ran a hand through his hair, frustration coursing through his body. They were almost to Baltimore, just a few hours away. The growing fear was eating at him and Zane held his hand in the silence. There was still no word from both Nick or the Bureau and Zane was beginning to think the lack of communication was coming from themselves. He tossed the phone a few hours back. 

“I have a really bad feeling,” Ty mumbled. Zane sighed, nodding. All they could do was wait together. 

“I feel like something happened and not knowing is freaking me out,” Zane said and Ty nodded.

“The drive isn’t helping,” Ty added, turning his head momentarily from the road so he could see his husband. He had been going through files in the passenger seat for hours, trying to figure out the guy and how they could catch him. 

“I love you,” Ty murmured to him, turning back to the road. Zane lifted his head to look at him, a small smile tugging at his lips as he sighed. 

“I love you,” He said back.

The impact that came from the passenger’s side seemed to come out of no where. Ty hadn’t seen anything coming, but the violent jolt came in cold shock, pushing them a good hundred feet. They rolled over the divider, glass spraying and metal cringing. Zane could hear Ty screaming for him as they moved, limbs flying and heads bashing against hard surfaces. 

When the violent movements ended and the tires were back on the ground, now on the opposite side of the highway, Ty shook his head, groaning. He reached blindly for Zane, fingers finding his arm and holding tight. 

“Zane,” He whimpered, opening his eyes. It hurt to move, but he could see Zane moving and breathing. 

“I’m okay,” He breathed, looking over at Ty, checking for injuries. “Are you okay?” He asked, scared. 

“I’m fine,” Ty nodded, glancing back out his window and gasping. The black truck was revving a few yards away. Ty struggled with his seatbelt, needing to get out and move. He released himself and turned to Zane, but stopped short because the steering wheel had be jammed from the rolling. It dug into Ty’s legs, immobilizing him. 

“No,” Zane groaned, moving from his seat, his muscles groaning. He was bruised and bloody, but Ty was trapped. 

“Zane!” Ty screamed and there was another impact from behind Zane. This one completely blew out the windshield and Zane pitched forward into Ty and smashed his face against the metal of Ty’s door. 

The truck pushed their vehicle over the concrete to the metal guard rails that separated the highway from a very steep drop off. Zane grappled, hands clutching at Ty and Ty reached for him. 

“Baby, you need to get out!” Ty screamed, but Zane shook his head, ripping the seat belt from its locked position and reaching for the jammed steering wheel. The truck was still locked into the side of their car, crushing them against the guard rail. The metal was breaking and protesting against the growing pressure and slowly the guard rail began to deteriorate. 

“No, no, no, no, no,” Zane mumbled, breath coming out in bursts. He pulled at the wheel with all his strength, but nothing was moving. 

Ty shook his head, tears streaming down his face and he reached for the gun in Zane’s waistband. He growled, raising the gun and unloading the magazine on the driver’s side windshield of the truck. It only cracked, not breaking through and he shouted wordlessly. 

“ZANE GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” He screamed, shoving at Zane’s shoulders. 

“NO,” Zane screamed back. The black truck suddenly began to back up. It was slow and measured and terrifying and Ty’s breathing came out in bursts. Zane glanced over his shoulder and saw what they were doing and in a final attempt at the wheel, he used all his strength, veins in his arms and neck popping out. His teeth ground together and his eyes clenched shut and in a fast movement, the steering wheel broke, flying up with the force and crushing Zane’s hand against the metal in the ceiling. 

“Hurry!” Ty screamed, bringing up his legs and pushing towards the windshield, gripping Zane’s arm and pulling. Ty was out on the hood and tugging at Zane just as the truck began to floor it at them and Zane knew without having to look that this was it. 

“GO!” He screamed, shoving Ty back hard enough so that he fell backwards against the concrete about five feet from the crushing vehicle. 

“NO!” Ty screamed, choking on his tears and utter devastation and adrenaline as the black truck barreled towards their car. 

His eyes met Zane’s in the panic and held. Everything slowed down between them and Zane watched him from the car, all the love and desperation in his face as he stared at his husband for what was probably going to be the last time and Ty felt a loud, grinding noise rip away from his mouth just as a white Dodge Ram sped from behind Ty and crashed head on into the side of the black truck, dragging it down the highway in a deformed heap.


	7. Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 7

It felt like watching the world in slow motion as the white truck went full force at the trashed truck taking it across several lanes before they came to a stop. Their own car was still much too close to the edge and a breaking rail for comfort. 

The impacts were all too clearly calculated, despite the fact that they were still both injured and in danger Ty found himself meeting Zane’s eyes as they both tried to move as best they could out of the car. If someone had found them on the road here could they have found the rest of them, found the safe house or worst yet followed them there? A moment later he was scrambling back on his feet watching in horror as the ground underneath the back wheels started to give way and crumble.

“Zane!” He yelled trying to stop the buzzing in his head from the impact so he could reach him. 

In the distance he could hear the sounds of bullets being exchanged but he had to get to Zane first. The door was utterly bent, there was no way accessible, the only way was to get Zane out through the hole where the windshield had been. 

“This is starting to feel a bit too much like New York.” Ty said climbing over mangled parts of the car to reach for Zane. 

“If you end up getting glass in my back I swear I’m going to punch you.” Zane joked weakly and grimaced in pain. The car groaned under the new weight making both of them pause. 

“Ty get back if this thing goes-”

“I am not letting you fall.” Ty ground out hoarsely, moving as carefully as he could towards Zane. It seemed no matter how lightly he stepped the guard rail picked up on it, protesting at the metal began to give way under the weight of the car. He was within reach of Zane when the railing went completely taking patches of ground with it and causing the car to lurch sideways. Ty moved forward without thinking about it, grabbing Zane’s forearm and pulling him through the mess of metal and glass out of the car and onto the hood. Their motion caused the car to lose what little balance it had, pitching over to the side with both of them still on the hood.

Ty kicked off the moving car with as much strength as he could trying desperately to get them both back on solid ground. They both landed on the ground rolling towards the ledge before managing to stop at the edge, Ty’s hand still on Zane. They had just enough time to open their eyes and see each other before the ground gave way under Zane crumbling uselessly and joining the remains of their car below.   
Ty found himself being pulled in the same direction but the ground under him stayed firmly in place. There was no way to anchor himself and pull Zane up, not at that moment. All he could do was hold on to him. 

“Ty.”

“Don’t you dare, don’t you fucking dare tell me to let go.” He warned through his teeth, tears streaming and body aching from the strain. 

“Ty what the hell else can we do?” Zane asked him in an amazingly calm voice. “You can’t hold on forever.” 

“You know I can’t do it. I’ll go down with you before I let you go, Garrett,” Ty said, moving to bring his other hand down to get a better grip on Zane. Almost in unison Zane brought his broken hand up to meet Ty’s, not giving a shit about the pain shooting through his palm as they laced their fingers together. 

“Ty, I love you,” Zane said softly in the mayhem. Ty’s face crumpled briefly before he shook his head and reeled it in. He can’t break yet. Behind them the noise of gunshots and shouts seemed to fade out. He could hear a couple of people running in their direction. He was praying it was local PD, though the lack of sirens and flashing lights made it pretty clear that wasn’t the case. Something like relief or defeat came over Zane’s face when he caught view of them over Ty’s shoulder. 

“Baby,” Zane smiled through the emotion. “It’s gonna be alright,” He said, letting go of Ty’s hand he’d been holding with his broken hand and grabbing someone else's with a grunt of pain while a different pair of hands came up and pulled Ty back from the edge. He didn’t even look up to see who had helped them before he was on his feet and yanking Zane into an embrace. He breathing came in gasps as he clutched at Zane’s shirt and buried his face in his neck. 

“I’m never going to let you go,” He murmured against Zane’s shoulder.

“Damn.” Digger’s voice carried over to them. “How come we never get any o’that?” Ty and Zane looked over to see both Owen and Digger standing by their wreaked white Dodge waiting on them. 

Owen just rolled his eyes and shook his head at all of it.

“Put away the improvised rocket launcher and someone might actually hug you one day,” He told Digger looking cautiously impressed by the weapon. 

Ty stepped away from Zane on a breath and clenched his fists. He glanced over to the black truck that was crushed down the highway a few hundred yards and the rage seemed to hit him like a brick. He was pissed. He was at his limit. How many times must he almost lose Zane? How many times must they attempt to sacrifice themselves for each other? 

In a rush of adrenaline, he grabbed for Owen’s gun that was hanging from his belt. He heard their warning shouts and Ty stalked towards the mangled cars. He saw a head pop up through one of the windows, covered in blood and the unmistakable moans of pain flowing through the air. He raised the glock and let off a few rounds, intentionally missing to make the man fear his life. He let a bullet clip his ear and the man disappeared into the car again. 

“Grady!” Digger yelled, grabbing for him, but Ty jerked away and kept walking. His rage was making him blind, his vision completely smothered in red. He hadn’t felt rage like this since being deployed and he wanted these fuckers dead. 

“Ty!” Zane screamed, running in front of him so he couldn’t pass. Ty shook his head, side stepping him and continuing to his path to the truck. Zane grabbed him from behind and hauled him off the ground and Ty howled in anger, kicking and struggling. 

“LET ME GO,” He screamed. Zane held him tight, while Ty was lethal as hell, he wouldn’t hurt Zane, and Zane also had at least 40 pounds on him. His stance and weight forced Ty to stop and he stuttered with a defeated cry, sagging in his husband’s arms. 

“Ty we need to go!” Owen reasoned, trying to calm him and Ty shook from Zane in a growl, stalking back to the car that Digger had been tossing their weapons in. 

Ty grabbed the keys from Owen in haste and forced himself into the driver’s seat, the others following. Digger tossed his rocket launcher into the trunk and hopped in, glancing around for threats. 

“What are you two doing here?” Ty asked at the same time as Zane demanded “What the ever loving shit do you need a rocket launcher for?”

“O’Flaherty sent us. The hospital is the other way and no offense man, but you look like shit and you both probably need medical attention. . . and a shower.” Owen said.

“But a rocket launcher?”

“Brother, I heard you were playing with Russians, gotta have a rocket launcher for that.” Digger told him thoroughly amused. He gave a longing glance to the totaled Dodge in the distance before getting into the passenger seat. 

Ty was furious as he drove. He took an exit off the highway and took the back route to Baltimore. They would have more miles to travel, but with the way he was driving, they’d get there in just a few hours. The car was silent, no one wanting to argue with him and Zane finally growled from the back seat, pushing his face forward between the seats and hissing into his ear. 

“Pull the fucking car over and let Owen drive, or so help me,” He hissed. 

“No,” Ty said simply in the same low voice. Digger and Owen sat back, not wanting to be at the receiving end of either of their bite. 

“Ty!” Zane barked. Ty glared at him in the rearview mirror and sigh, jerking the car into a gas station and getting out in a frustrated shout. 

Ty settled into the backseat with Zane and as Owen took off in an attempt to disappear. As soon as he joined Zane, the fury almost disappeared and with one look from Zane, Ty wrapped himself around him and ran his hands over him for injuries. 

“Ty,” Zane huffed at his insistent checking. There was blood on him, but not much.

“Is he bleeding?” Owen called from the front and Ty furrowed his brow and checked his sides, petting him gently. 

“I can’t find a wound,” Ty shook his head. 

“Ty,” Zane breathed, reaching up to his head and pressing a hand to the crown of his head. “We need to get to a hospital, he’s got risk for concussion,” Zane said louder and Digger turned in the seat to look. 

“Jesus Six,” He bit out, poking gently at Ty’s head and Ty hissed ducking away. 

“I’m fine, keep driving,” He growled. 

“Ty-” Zane started, but Ty waved him off, they were getting to Baltimore as soon as possible or he was getting out and walking there on his own. 

“Fine.” Zane finally conceded, looking pissed of and relieved at the same time. “Get back on the main highway we can get into Baltimore in the next three hours. Then we’re getting you to the ER you stubborn bastard.” 

“Ty didn’t even look offended as he nodded. 

“So what exactly did Nick tell you?” He asked Owen. 

~*~

The drive into the city took long enough that Zane was beginning to worry that they should have taken Ty into the nearest hospital right after the collision. It wasn’t that Ty was bleeding out or anything but there was no way of telling if there was internal damage, especially not when Ty got into soldier mode and pushed pain down with anger. 

“Take the next left-” Zane told Owen before Ty tried to protest.

“I don’t need the hospital!” 

“Look we had a deal, now until a medical professional tells me you’re okay we’re both going in, and no damnit Ty this isn’t up for discussion.” Zane told him. 

Ty muttered something under his breath that sounded like “Kelly would have let me keep going.” Making the other three men in the car roll their eyes and Digger almost whacked him on the head before remembering the possibility of a concussion. 

A few more minutes passed in silence before Ty slumped against Zane defeated. Whispering too low for the others to hear he apologized to Zane. 

“There’s no need for it, I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Zane told him pressing his lips to Ty’s bruised jaw lightly. It earned him a flicker of a smile from his husband. 

“C’mon we’re here and you look like you might actually be concussed.” Digger said climbing out of the car. 

“Concuss this.” Ty groaned flipping him off as he peeled himself off Zane, as much as he hated the idea they might have been right. 

“Yeah he’ll be alright.” Digger said cheerfully walking towards the reception area of the hospital. 

 

Zane was sitting in one of the smaller rooms, toying with the splint on his fractured wrist watching as Ty tried not to argue with the poor doctor who has to patch him up. How much more of this could they take before one of them ended up with something they couldn’t get up and walk away from, or worse?

A knock on the door saved him from further thoughts along that line. A moment later none other Special Agent in Charge McCoy walked in, took one look at both Ty and Zane and pronounced that they both looked like hell. 

“Who the fuck invited you in here anyway?” Ty shot back, apparently if he couldn’t fight with the doctor he was gonna fight with McCoy. 

“No one I just needed to make sure you two idiots were still alive, and Perrimore and Bastian are sitting with Clancy so I’m not exactly needed there at the moment.

“Clancy?” Zane perked up, looking at McCoy. “Is she okay?” He asked, standing. 

McCoy sighed, bringing his hand up to rub at his forehead. Ty felt like he was going to throw up.

“They were watching the bookstore. Someone broke in, Clancy took front, Bastian took back. The guy jumped her, did some damage. Bastian brought him in though.” 

“Is she okay?” Zane repeated, his voice growing low like gravel. 

“She’s fine, mostly. She had some internal damage. Knife through the thigh and the lower abdomen. She got out of surgery yesterday morning-”

“Where’s her room?” Zane demanded. Ty scrambled from the bed, looking down at the IV in his arm with glee. “Don’t you dare!” Zane snapped at him just as Ty began to reach for it. Ty’s face fell and he grumbled, sitting back down. 

McCoy told Zane where to find the team while he stayed back with Ty after Zane’s insistence that he rest. As he walked to her room, he rubbed at his chest, trying to dislodge the guilt that was choking him. How many people has he gotten killed? Clancy was one of the closest friends he had. 

“Zane,” Perrimore waved from down the hall. Zane nodded, sighing and heading straight for him. The other man hugged him, telling him it was okay, but Zane didn’t feel any better. 

“WHAT IS THIS SHIT, I HATE GREEN JELLO,” Came the unmistakable yell behind the door. Zane couldn’t help but smile at that and Perrimore smiled, shrugging. 

“I’ll go on a coffee run, leave you alone for a few minutes,” He told Zane, heading down the hall. 

Zane sighed, lightly knocking on the door before pushing through. Bastian huffed from her bedside, spotting Zane and looking to the heavens. 

“Thank god, I’m going to eat,” He muttered. Clancy took a spoonful of her green jello and threw it at Bastian’s head. The man closed his eyes, looking like he would scream, before getting up and leaving the two alone. 

When the door shut, she set her jello aside and looked at Zane solemnly. He felt awkward and guilty and terrible and didn’t know how to tell her how sorry he was. He lifted an arm to rub at his neck as he took a step towards her. She cocked her head at him and sighed. 

“Clancy,” He started, looking sad. 

“Where’s my fucking hug, Garrett?” She hissed, arching a one thick brow. He stuttered for a minute, huffing and shaking his head. “Don’t get all guilty on me, just come here you big softy,” She whispered. Zane nodded, taking the last two steps to her and bending down to hug her. She laughed, patting his back and resting her cheek on his shoulder. She sighed into her hair and took the seat beside the bed. 

She held his hand as he sat and relayed the events. It didn’t make him feel better, though. 

“Zane, this isn’t your fault. You’re family, man. You would have done the same for me,” She told him. He nodded, laughing a little uncomfortably. She smiled, patting his hand. 

“I’ve brought you strawberry shortcake yogurt, my little fiery magnolia blossom,” Digger announced, walking into the room. 

She actually blushed when he said it and Zane blanched, looking at him like he had five heads. He gave Zane a wide smile and set the bowl of yogurt on her side table.

“Thank you.” Clancy managed sound surprised and pleased, Zane smiled knowingly and shook his head. He stood, intending to leave them alone but before he could the door swung open again and McCoy walked in with Ty, dressed in civilian clothes instead of a hospital gown. 

Zane threw both of them a look and Ty just shrugged and tried to look apologetic. 

“Sorry when the doctor let it slip that he didn’t need to stay overnight he made me sign him out.” McCoy admitted. 

“Wait that bastard gets mowed over by a russian mob truck and he’s out in less than four hours and I’m stuck here for almost three days now?” Clancy demanded, staring a burning hole into Ty.

“Yeah difference here is his skull is so thick there was nothing to damage, and you on the other hand nearly had some very vital parts cut clean off so you’re off the case unti-” McCoy cut off as he moved to dodge a pillow. 

“Damnit McCoy I am on this case until I quit or die, and give me back my pillow.” She demanded.

“Michelle seriously you’re still hooked up to an IV and you’ve been taking it out on everyone around you. You need rest not work.” 

“If I promise to be good will you sign me out and let me work?” She asked in a calmer voice.

“I’ll consider it.” He said handing her pillow over to her. 

~*~

“So what do we do about the asshole we got in a holding cell down at the bureau?” Bastian asked tiredly as they all sat down to talk a few hours later. 

“Before or after we let Digger loose on him?” Ty said then got a half-hearted punch in the arm for it. “Ow ok kidding!” 

“How about we let you go in there and see if you can get anything else out of him.” Perrimore suggested. Parts of this conversation had already come up earlier and no one was particularly thrilled with the lack of ideas or circles they were running in. 

“We could.” Ty agreed. “Do you think he’d actually know anything else? Chances are he’s just a low level lackey and they only told him enough to make sure he’d get into the right building.”

“Probably wouldn’t be worth the hassle to see if they even want him back.” Zane agreed in a thoughtful voice that suggested he had something else in mind. 

The conversation went on for a few minutes outside his notice before he spoke again. 

“What if we let him go?” Zane said suddenly.

He was met with silence, almost as if the rest weren’t sure they heard him right.

“What do you mean let him go? Like just let him back to the guy that sent him here?” Owen asked speaking for the first time.

“Exactly, but we send him with a message, something to get his attention and bring him out from hiding.” He paused frustrated a bit by their unconvinced faces. “Look the longer he draws it out the more likely he is to hurt someone again, we need this to be over before he gains the upper hand.”

“What were you thinking?” 

“I don’t know for sure yet-

“A meet up.” Bastian broke in. “I know it’s kind of bad Bond-knock off cliche but it might work, especially if this guy thinks he’s hot shit and sees it as a way to get what he wants in one move.”

“There’s also a good chance the bastard sees that it’s a trap and goes running.” Clancy pointed out.

“Well we can’t have him running.” Owen said sharing a conspiratorial look with Ty who added. “Not unless we give him something to chase.”

 

“So how hard exactly did you hit your head?” Perrimore asked Ty who let the comment slide by in favor of explaining the rest of the plan they had come up with in Oregon to the team. 

It wasn’t perfect, there were more than a few places where the whole thing could come crashing spectacularly down in flames, as several people pointed out. 

“We’re taking a pretty big chance with this, for all we know this could push him further into hiding or bring him charging down on us while we’re still here.” Clancy said. 

“Doubtful, it would trigger a war if he attacked a government building like that. No he’s more likely to strike at them directly if he thinks it’s an opportune moment.” This last bit McCoy directed at Ty and Zane directly. 

“What other option do we have? Even if we put a tracker on the guy and let him go there’s no guarantee he goes to back, and even if he does there’s no guarantee he goes straight to the boss nor that they will stay there long enough for us to go send a team in.” Bastian said frustrated.

“Or that we’re not sending our team into a trap.”Perrimore grunted.

“So where does that leave us?” 

Silence greeted that question.

“So we wing it, force their hand before they can force ours and hope for the best.” Digger said speaking for the first time since he and Ty had explained the plan earlier. “Hell I always kinda wanted to beat a Russian at chess.” 

“And yet he made a card reference.” Owen muttered under his breath before pushing away from the wall he had been leaning on and saying in a louder voice. “Alright I’m in let’s go play chess.” 

After getting a hold of Nick through a safe channel they set up Cam and Evie in a safe place with some east coast friends and filled them in on the rest.

“We’ll meet you in up there in a few hours, McCoy is taking the rest down to Atlanta, he sent out a few people to lay a trail up here for him to follow. Hopefully we’ll be all set up before he hits D.C.” Ty said in a weary voice, it was all starting to catch up with him. 

“Don’t do anything too stupid before we get there.” Nick warned him with a smile in his voice. 

“Well considering all the stupid stayed with you-”

“Hey I don’t make fun of your husband you don’t make fun of my boyfriend.” Nick said at the same time Kelly’s voice filtered through from near by. “Hey rude! I heard that!”

“How’s camping with Cross?” Ty said by way of avoiding pushing the subject further but he was smiling despite himself and it was pretty easy to tell that neither Kelly nor Nick were actually offended.

“Better than with you, at least he doesn’t make me climb up mountains and sleep on rocks.” Nick retorted. 

“You really need to learn to let that go dude.”Ty said.

“I will not! I got bit by a fucking snake-”

“It was one time dude! One time.”

“I’m hanging up now.” Nick said cheerfully, Kelly’s laughter audible in the background. “See you on the ground in a few hours Six.”

“See ya.” Ty answered, he was pretty sure he heard a pillow or cushion hit Kelly before Nick hung up.

Kelly fell back on the bed, laughing gleefully. Nick shook his head, tossing the phone over his shoulder and climbing across the mattress and up Kelly’s body. 

“Stop laughing,” He growled, hovering over him. Kelly kept smiling, his bright eyes sparkling with that same Kelly glint he always had. It made Nick’s lips twitch. 

“Sometimes I forget about that story and I get so confused when you refuse to go hiking with me!” Kelly barked out another laugh, his body shaking Nick’s. Nick growled, coming down hard and fast and taking Kelly’s mouth with his. His teeth grazed those soft lips and he sucked his bottom lip, pulling back with it. Kelly moaned, then burst into laughter. Again. 

“Dammit, Kels!” Nick snapped, sitting up on his hands to glare down. 

“You’re so tough until you have to hike for the sake of hiking!” He laughed again, wiping at the tears running down his cheeks. Nick rolled his eyes, crawling back and sitting against the headboard. Kelly smiled warmly, sitting up and cocking his head. “Don’t pout,” He cooed and Nick smiled, shaking his head. Kelly crawled towards him and straddled his lap, running his hands up his chest and wrapping around his neck. 

“I love you,” He murmured, pressing close. Nick sighed, sliding his hands up Kelly’s back. 

“Just shut up and kiss me.” 

~*~

The hotel was cold when they got there. Ty dropped his bag near the door and sighed, trudging through the suite to the bedroom. McCoy put them up nice. Maybe out of guilt. They might die soon. 

“Food?” Zane asked, setting his own bag down and following his husband. 

“Sleep,” Ty murmured, flopping down onto the king sized bed and groaning. Zane whistled, setting his fists on his hips to survey the room. 

“Nice digs?” 

“Guilt ridden room,” Ty grunted, rolling onto his back. “I’m cold.” 

“Get under the covers?” Zane smirked. 

“I’d rather you cover me,” Ty mumbled, looking away and looking too serious after the pun. 

Zane sighed, walking towards him and sliding into the bed beside him. He slid his hand over Ty’s belly and tugged him closer, pressing his nose to the patch of skin behind his ear.

“It’ll be over soon. We’ll get him.” 

“I’m scared for it to end,” Ty whispered. “I’m scared.” 

“I know,” Zane nodded, holding him tight. Ty turned his face into his and searched for his lips. He rolled to his side so he could get closer and Zane pulled him on top of him, sliding his hands up under his shirt and up his spine. 

Ty framed his face with his hands and cocked his head as he pulled away. He held Zane’s dark eyes and mesmerized them. He leaned down to press his lips between his brows and then let them brush over his knows before drinking in those lips he knew so well. He didn’t want sex right now. He wanted his husband. Just him. His touch, his love, his body and soul. He wanted to wrap around him in the dark and never detach. He wanted it like this forever. 

A knock on the door pulled him away from his small moment of peace. He frowned sadly and pulled away, but Zane caught his neck and pulled him back down for a messy kiss. It was full of tongue and teeth and need. Ty groaned, laying his body over him and squeezed him in his arms. 

“Party is here!” Someone called from the main room of the suite and Ty jumped so high, Zane had to catch him so he didn’t fall from the bed. 

“The fuck,” Zane cursed, sitting up and tilting his head to see into the outer room. He caught a glimpse of bright red curls and rolled his eyes. “Sidewinder,” He murmured. Ty breathed out a huff and stood, smoothing out his shirt and hair. 

“How the fuck did you guys get in?” Ty asked, walking out to greet them. Zane followed close, hooking his finger into Ty’s belt loop. 

“We brought the creepy dude,” Digger said, jerking his thumb towards Julian who was lounging in one of the chairs and stuffing a leather pocket book into his coat. 

“You can go back and do what you were doing, we’re just ordering pizza,” Kelly waved to them, looking over Nick’s shoulder while he ordered the food off his phone. 

Ty ignored the tease and plopped down in front of the couch and crossed his legs. Zane took the seat behind him and Ty leaned back into his legs. 

“Calm before the storm,” Owen said, sighing. Ty nodded. 

“Oohrah, bitch,” Digger chuckled. The echo of the word flowed through Zane and he closed his eyes. 

Too many times they’ve sat through the calm before the storm. 

This was the last time. The next time they all gathered like this, it wouldn’t be in preparation of a fight. It would be as family. As they were. As they are. As they always will be. Brothers.


	8. End

“Well this place is a dump.” Kelly said as they pulled their gear out the car.

“Sorry babe, next time we’ll fight a defunct ring of homicidal Russians in a castle.” Nick told him, not bothering to look up from the gun he was checking, all humor aside they were all doing their best to school their nerves. 

“Nah too much of a James Bond cliche. . . wait did Bond ever fight Russians in a castle?” Kelly asked them, laughed lightly at Nick’s pissed off expression when his night-vision goggles wouldn’t do what he wanted them to even though it was 3 in the afternoon.

“I don’t think so Doc. You got everything you need?” Digger asked tossing something over the hood to Zane. 

“I think so.”

“Good because I’m not doing a special run for something you forgot, like oh say your firearm or a med kit-”

“Hey I only ever lost it once in the field and we were under fire!” Kelly yelled back after Digger who was walking away laughing.

“He didn’t lose it, we hid it from him and we weren’t actually under fire, Doc was drunk and on cold meds in camp we’re pretty sure he dreamt most of it.” Ty told Zane quietly grinning. So it wasn’t the most mature thing they had ever done but no harm done and it had eased the growing tension that was with them in the early days. “Digger never quite let him forget that one.”

“You guys are such assholes.” Zane informed him laughing along quietly, while Kelly shared his sentiment out loud. 

“When do we move?” Owen asked walking over to them and narrowly avoiding Kelly who took off after Digger, looking like he had finally pieced the story together. 

“When we get word of where Zylka was spotted, they have local agents and PD waiting for him to pass through, anything from Baltimore or Atlanta?” Ty asked.

“Baltimore is clean, looks like he blew right past the little decoy our slippery little friend was suppose to direct him to. They’re looking pretty quiet in Atlanta too.” 

“God I hate playing the waiting game.” Nick said from where he was standing by the truck. 

“Makes two of us, though I’m sure the rest of you share the sentiment.” Julian Cross’s voice floated over as he walked towards them. “What the Hell is your corpsman doing Grady?” He asked watching Kelly and Digger from a distance. 

“Getting payback for a vanishing med kit, ten years after it went missing.” Ty said. 

“Let’s hope it won’t vanish again when we need it.” Julian said. 

“Amen to that.” Owen muttered. “Doc let him go you can throw him into the ocean of something later!” He yelled after them.

“This is just a litt-”

Ty’s phone rang cutting him off mid word.

“Oh boy here we go.” Nick said peering over to see who was calling.

“Shit. No.” Ty whispered looking at the small set of numbers and the single sentence that came with it.

“Grady?”

“He beat us here, bastard’s waiting for us to show.” He said staring at a set of coordinates and the text that spelled out . “Bring me what’s mine or I kill everyone and get it myself.” 

“How did he beat us here?! We sent out the decoy after we left.” Owen asked. 

“So now what? He’s back on the field and he’s got advantage.”Nick pointed out. 

“We go in like we always do, this is just another exercise, perimeter run and flush them out if we can or divide and conquer floor by floor.” Kelly said easily. “Look the longer we wait the longer it drags out. The idiot made two big mistakes, one he put himself in a building and now he’s cornered.” Kelly said then paused waiting for someone to ask the right question.

“What’s the other mistake?” Digger asked indulging him.

“He put himself in a dark room with a snake, and this snake bites if you step on it.” Kelly said proudly while Nick groaned next to him looking both pissed and impressed.

“Alright let’s do this then, like he said the quicker the better I’m starting not to hate Grady again so we’ve been around each other too long.” Julian said looking up the new coordinates and walking towards the car. The rest of Sidewinder followed suit. 

“Eli would have liked him, he’s constantly making fun of Ty.” Owen said to Zane as they drove and Digger made a sound of agreement. They let Nick call McCoy in Atlanta to let him know about the change in plans, then called local PD to keep them on standby near the area. 

“I take it back, we can fight at the dumpy place.” Kelly said as they parked a street or so away from the new coordinates. 

“Too late now babe, next time be careful what you wish for.” Nick said watching him the entire time. 

“Huh, noted.” Kelly said. 

Owen was waiting with Digger and Julian for the rest of them, there wasn’t really time for speeches or plans, they had discussed this all over and over in Oregon and on the way over. Now was the time for action, Nick grabbed Kelly by the waist, pulled him in for a hard deep kiss that earned him a low quiet whistle from both Julian and Zane. 

“Come back out of there ok and there’s gonna be a lot more where that came from.” Nick promised quietly pressing his forehead against Kelly’s who nodded. 

“Promise me you’ll do the same.”

“I promise.”

Digger shook his head at them smiling then caught Owen’s amused stare and said. “Don’t look at me man, I ain’t kissing you.” Which earned a laugh out of everyone, including Julian. 

They watched as Kelly, Owen and Digger took the front, leading in then vanishing as they went around. 

“Kiss for luck?” Zane asked Ty. Ty pursed his lips. 

“No,” He said. Zane glared a moment and Ty reached up, bringing him down to his level, crushing their lips together and wrapping himself around him. Zane sighed into the kiss and held him close, pressing their foreheads together when they separated. “Kiss just cause,” He mumbled, turning away and hefting his bag over his shoulder. 

“You two should stay back, let us lead,” Nick suggested as they approached the building. Ty shook his head and sighed. 

“He wants us. Just watch our backs,” He said. Nick watched him sadly for a moment before pulling him in for a hug. 

Ty and Zane entered the building through the front. Zylka knew they were here, there was no point in trying to sneak in. As they gained on the entrance, Sidewinder panned out behind them, expertly disappearing through alleyways and abandoned cars. Zane glanced out at them only briefly, frowning worriedly when they ducked out. It was scary, the way they worked. Something he may never understand. 

As they walked, Zane reached out and hooked Ty’s fingers with his. The anxiety was in his throat now, flashes of Evie and Ty running like a rapid slideshow. 

Images of Ty’s young face. Of West Virginia mountains, bleach blond hair, tigers, and firefights. Images of dark skin pressed to freckled, the faint birthmark on the back of his thigh. Flashes of a dark man in an alley with gold eyeliner and a slow smirk. The spark of gold and green glistening with tears as they held their daughter for the first time. 

A beautiful composition of a man standing in front of a run down building with his love and life laid out raw as he asked Zane to spend the rest of his life with him. 

He slid his palm over Ty’s and squeezed, needing him to know he was there. If this was it, Zane would make damn sure that whatever happened, Evie would have Ty. Because their daughter needed to experience the love that Ty Grady could give. 

“At least it’s not a mountain lion,” Ty mumbled and Zane let out a watery laugh, reaching up to wipe at the betraying tears. “Don’t cry yet, baby. You can cry when we survive this,” He told him, squeezing his hand one last time before letting go and reaching for the handle of the door. Zane leaned over, pressing his lips to Ty’s temple. 

“I love you, Meow Mix,” He whispered and stood back up straight and hard. 

Ty pushed the door open. 

Little did they know there were two other interested parties watching the group of men enter the building, one waiting in the shadows, while the other two stayed carefully at their vantage point across the street. Should it come down to it they were ready to take action.

~*~

Kelly saw the first one run out towards them before the shots started ringing out. A single bullet took care of him, it was much too easy, which meant that Nick was probably up there fighting the more experienced ones. 

To his side Owen had swapped his gun in favor of hand to hand combat taking on not one, but three men. With signal from Digger that told him he’d cover them Kelly darted over and took one of them out in a matter of moments. Then next few that came were a bit more difficult. He thought he saw a glimpse of Nick running towards the noise before he turned his mind back to the fight at hand.  
Whatever happened today he needed to be there for his team, reaching for another cartridge he slipped it in and opened fire again. 

~*~

She glared from her place near the back of the warehouse. She checked her weapon and her back up knives. She hadn’t spotted Alex yet, or any of his men. But he would be here. She knew that for a fact. 

Ty and Zane walked in, hand in hand. The men she’d been observing for weeks were on their last thread. The expressions alone held true fear and she sighed. She couldn’t afford for them to be weak right now. 

“Zylka,” Ty called. Natalia pressed her back to the engine she’d been hiding behind and closed her eyes to listen. The only noise she could catch was the creak of old foundation and the thump of their footsteps. 

When she opened her eyes, she almost missed the first coming straight for her temple.

~*~

Julian almost missed her, hiding behind old machinery that carefully concealed her from most eyes, but not his. Julian found his hope falling. Zylka that could take out with some effort, but if it was the two of them they could only hope that the casualties would be minimal before someone sent in the big guns. He couldn’t hope to take her out but he could slow her down, but them time. Breaking off from his position he moved towards her, the first sounds of a fight reaching his ears as he struck. 

She wasn’t waiting for an attack, and he caught her in a split moment with her eyes closed. A blow glance off her temple as she moved at the last moment not expecting the attack and trying to move out of the way as it came. 

He kept at it, throwing punches, waiting for her to strike, to throw him to the ground, grab a weapon or even use her bare hands to end him like he had seen her do before. Instead she fought him almost exclusively to defend herself. She watched him as they fought, like she was trying to remember something. 

“Tristian Dalton?” She asked using his alias from assignment he had run into her on all those years ago.

“Not anymore, and as I recall you don’t go by the name of Isabelle Fila either.” Julian said trying to throw her off balance.

Further on the fighting seemed to reach an eerie calm. 

“B`lyad'!” She bit out throwing Julian off her completely and looking worriedly over to where a scream of pain echoed through the whole building. “I’m not here to fight you.” She said accent slipping into her words. 

“Why do I find that so hard to believe?” Julian asked not striking but still circling her, blocking her path. 

“We do not have time for this. The real monster is in there right now killing your friends and after he’s done he will go after you, then the ones you love.” She said reasoning with Julian. “That monster tried to take my child and he’s going to answer in blood. So either help me or get out of the way Irish man, we don’t have time to spar like children.” 

The sound of the fight caught their attention. Natalia took off with Julian at her heels running into the other room. He would shoot her at first sign of deceit but for now there were more pressing issues at hand. 

~*~

“Did you hear that?” Zane asked low. Ty nodded with the jerk of his head and scanned the open levels of the warehouse. It was too dark in here, too easy to be snuck up on him. The wind outside was covering any specific noises Ty was trained to catch and he bared his teeth in frustration. He wanted this over. He wanted Zylka dead. 

“Get your russian ass down here and let’s settle this shit Zylka!” Ty snapped loud and clear. Zane cringed, sighing and stopping to hold his stance. Silence answered for far too long and he lifted his gun, ready for an attack. 

When no one answered, Ty began to vibrate. What if he didn’t show? What if he followed the false trail? What if he found out Evie was being taken by a friend and tracked her down? He felt the nausea begin to choke him and his breathing became labored. He turned to Zane in a panic and stopped short. 

Zylka stepped from the shadows, his broad frame surprisingly larger than Zane’s. He held a knowing smirk on his face as he walked towards them ever so slowly. Zane was stiff beside Ty, but he held his aim. 

“Patience, gentlemen,” He cooed. His accent was thick and his dark eyes made Ty think of an ugly storm, the clouds dark with chaos. His head was shaved short, dark skin marred with scars. He wore a suit, pressed perfect. 

“Where is my daughter?” Zylka asked calmly. Zane gritted his teeth and held back the urge to scream. 

“She’s not your fucking daughter, Russian Bastard,” Ty spit. Zane let a ghost of a smile grace his lips and he shook his head. 

“Ty,” Zane warned. The man across the room from them shook his head, knowing smirk never leaving his lips. 

“I’m going to give you a chance to return what is mine,” He started. “Without any consequence, you hand over my daughter, and I will bring no harm to your friends and family. And your…. Husband,” He spat in disgust. “If you do not do as I say, I will put a bullet through your heads after I slit the throats of your friends outside, the ones in Atlanta, and the small man in Oregon.” He clicked.

“If you know where she is, why don’t you just go get her,” Ty hissed. Zane threw him a look.

Zylka smiled wide and shook his head, beginning to pace. 

“Silly Americans. Choose wisely.” 

Ty breathed low, watching him. He could kill him right now. He could put a bullet through his temple, no hesitation, no chance of missing. But how many were out there? Was there someone tracking her in Oregon right now? He had no idea what this guy was capable of, but Cross was even scared of the guy. 

“Ty,” Zane whispered. Ty looked to him at a loss and his husband looked at him sadly. “I love you,” He murmured and Ty stared at him hard. His husband’s eyes were shining with tears and love. And the same challenge he remember from the beginning. From anytime they were on an assignment together. Of any time they fought for their lives or someone else’s. They had a life. They lived a life. They needed to fight for it. Ty turned back to Zylka and growled low, feet braced apart and ready for an attack.

“Fucking bite me,” He hissed. Zylka smiled wide again, nodding. He sighed, turning to the back of the warehouse and began to walk away. From the shadows, two figures appeared. They were braced with guns and who knows what else. Without a thought, Zane let off two rounds, one after another. They blew through their hands and they dropped their weapons before they could let off any shots and Zane began to run towards them, Ty hot on his heals. 

“Go after Zylka!” Zane screamed while he flicked his knives from his wrists and braced to take on the two figures himself. Ty only saw the first throat being slit as he rushed passed them.

Ty breathed hard, screeching to a halt when he was devoured by the shadows that Zylka had disappeared into. He blinked his eyes, trying to see through it all, but he couldn’t make anything out. He dipped his head, scanning the darkness before he saw a sliver of light flash from the back right corner of the warehouse. 

He sprinted for it, catching the door and checking himself. He made sure his safety was off before pushing through and meeting blinding sun. 

The back yard of the warehouse was caged in by a high tin fence. It was crowded with heavy equipment and old engines. It was dusty and oily and Zylka stood in the middle of it all. 

“You two think too highly of yourselves,” He clucked, shaking his head. Ty lifted his gun and let off a few rounds, but Zylka was fast. He rolled away, a glock materializing from beneath the folds of his coat and he lifted it to fire back. 

Ty felt the burning hit in his arm immediately and he ran for cover, diving behind a large truck. He heard Zylka laugh joyously and Ty hissed, looking down at the blood blooming through his Henley. 

“Bit slow with your age, Agent Grady?” Zylka called. Ty caught a view of the man as he rounded a few pieces of machinery and leaned back against the truck, trying to catch his breath. Once he was sure he could move effectively, he crouched and began to move. 

“I’m not the one that’s balding,” Ty called back, racing between the maze of metal. 

Zylka didn’t reply, and Ty didn’t have a visual anymore. He slowed, listening carefully and began to walk towards the center of the yard. He craned his neck and cursed.

“Where the fuck did you go,” He whispered to himself and scanned the area. 

Without warning, Ty heard the cry of protesting metal. He glanced up just as a large piece of equipment teetered off the top of a rise and he dove to avoid it, but his legs got caught. His breath came out labored and he tugged, trying to get free. He grabbed his gun just as he heard a series of shots being let off from inside the building and his heart stopped, panic setting in. His eyes burned and he grabbed for his gun just as a leathered boot kicked it out of his reach. 

Zane busted through the metal door and Ty cringed away from the foot that came down to kick his stomach. Zane shouted at the scene and aimed his gun, hitting Zylka’s hand with one shot so he dropped his gun. 

The man hissed, stepping away and glaring. Zane didn’t lower his gun and he advanced on him, letting off a few rounds to the man’s chest. Ty watched in horror as the guy stumbled but kept smiling, standing straight. Zane aimed for his head now, but the chamber clicked empty. On a frustrated shout, he tossed it away and grabbed for the knife on his hip. 

“Zane!” Ty shouted and Zane shot a look at him just as something hard cracked into the back of his head. Zane fell to his knees and blinked against the blinding stars in his vision and he coughed, shaking his head and groaning. 

Zylka took a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wrapped his hand as he bent to pick up Ty’s gun. 

“Are you prepared to watch your husband die, Agent Grady?” He asked. Zane coughed again, blinking rapidly and Zylka approached him, aiming the gun and shooting him in the thigh. 

“Stop!” Ty screamed and Zane fell again, clutching at the shot. Zane reached for his knife and flicked it effortlessly at Zylka, catching him in the shoulder, right above the heart and where the bullet proof vest stopped. The man paused, eyes bulging, but he didn’t seem fazed. The man that had hit him in the back of the head kicked him in the ribs hard and Zane fell to his side, curling in on himself. Zylka jerked the knife from his shoulder, pissed. 

He advanced fast now, eyes raging dark and furious. He crouched down and expertly plunged the knife into Zane’s stomach. Zane gasped, eyes wide and he watched Zylka. His fingers twitched as blood began to seep passed the knife and Ty began to scream. 

Zylka jerked the knife free and tossed it uselessly to the side and he held up the gun to Zane’s temple. 

“Shall I kill him with your gun, Agent Grady?” Zylka called. “Should I put the bullet through his brain or shall I let him bleed out while you watch as he gasps for life?” He tossed over his shoulder. 

“Please!” Ty cried, tears streaming. Zane held his eyes from his place on the ground. Ty was shaking and pulling at his legs. His heart was in pieces and his muscles were screaming with the effort to move and he couldn’t get anywhere. He tore at the dirt beneath him, nails breaking and skin ripping. “Please stop!” Ty screamed again. He was sobbing now. Zane was bleeding out. Zylka was smiling in amusement. 

“I’ll take pity on you,” Zylka sighed, turning back to Zane and pressing the barrel of the gun to his temple again. 

“Ty,” Zane croaked. He gasped again, chest heaving and mouth moving like a fish out of water. “Ty I love you. I love you so much,” He ground out. Ty shook his head, crying into the dust and digging his nails into the dirt. 

“How sweet,” Zylka chuckled. He cocked his head on a sigh. He nudged at Zane’s temple and Ty was screaming, tears and sweat turning the dust beneath him into mud. It clung to his arms and face as he pulled at the earth, his legs screaming in protest against the unforgiving metal. Zane watched him, the cool barrel of this gun a shocking contrast against his heated skin. With tears racing down his cheeks, he laid his head on the earth, silent sobs wracking his body. He wasn’t crying for the pain or the fear of death. He was crying because the love of his life was going to have to watch him die. 

“No-” The man behind Zane stuttered. Zylka glanced up quickly and arched an eyebrow. The man’s eyes were wide and dead before he even began to fall and he dropped like a rock. Natalia stood in his place, tall and strong, her bloody knife was shaking in her grasp.

“Darling,” Zylka purred. He stood fluidly, letting Zane be for now. Ty quieted, stealing a breath and turning to the engine on his legs. He began to dig at the earth around his limbs while Zylka was distracted. Zane closed his eyes and swallowed against the pain and prepared to move once Zylka wasn’t hovering over him. 

“Do not do this, Alex,” She said slowly. Zylka chuckled and rolling his eyes. 

“You took my pardon away from me, Natalia. She was not yours to take,” He shook his head and before he could say a word, Natalia was lunging at him, legs coming up and locking around his neck in a vise. 

As Ty dug desperately at the dirt, he kept glancing back, making sure Zane was still breathing and moving. When the woman attacked Zylka, Zane began to crawl away from it all, heading for the shelter of the scraps. He moved slow and his face was contorted and Ty dug harder, but anytime he might have made progress, the engine would only adjust with him. 

He didn’t see him until he was on him. Julian had slipped over the side of one of the tin fences, coming to Ty’s side in a rush. 

“Help Zane!” He begged him, voice cracking. “Don’t help me you fucking Irish barard! Go get Zane!” He practically screamed and Julian hissed at him. 

“Will you shut your bloody mouth, Grady?” He growled. “Abbott is getting him now,” He explained and Ty looked over in a rush as Julian got his fingers beneath the metal by his legs. Ty couldn’t see Zane anymore and it made the fear in him run cold. He couldn’t be sure Kelly got through. He needed to see it. 

Instead he caught sight of Natalia being thrown off like a doll and hitting the ground, using it as momentum to launch herself back at Zylka directly, moving her body to hit his only at the very last moment. He tried to fend her off but bulk in muscle was nothing on her speed. 

Two rapid hits to the gut and neck left him winded and gasping, this was a far deadlier dance than anything they had done before. It would only end if one or the other died.

His elbow caught her side harshly swinging her off balance and giving him an opening. he grabbed her hair and pulled, making her head snap back with the force of it. 

Besides them Nick fought with Owen and Digger, giving Kelly and Julian time to get him and Zane out of harm’s way. 

For a moment it seemed that Natalia had the upper hand again, she twisted away from Zylka’s pull and kicked high catching him in the chest before he unexpectedly caught her. 

“Moya kroshka, don’t forget I know all your little tricks.” He said pulling a still bloody knife out and sinking it into her side with so little effort it seemed like it couldn’t have possibly happened. She let out a quiet gasp that seemed to cut through the rest of the noise. He dropped her carelessly, yanking the blade out brutally as she fell.

“Now back to you two.” He said walking over with seemingly nothing more than a limp in his step. He pointed his gun at Ty and looked coldly over the barrel. “I should have just killed you first and made your husband watch.” He said and a shot rang out. 

Neither Ty nor Julian beside him flinched, Ty couldn’t feel any new pain and Julian wasn’t reacting either. Two more shots followed and it became apparent that Zylka never pulled the trigger as his chest bloomed in crimson. He fell to the ground face first, dead before he reached it. 

“Ublyudok.” Natalia gritted out holding Ty’s gun still in front of her. swaying for a moment before she fell back to the floor. Two more bodies hit the filthy ground, one behind Nick, another behind Zane and Kelly. 

Ty stared at the bleeding woman for a moment uncomprehending. There was no way she could have taken out all of them, in fact he was pretty sure he had used all but the last bullet in his gun before she ever picked it up. 

Julian however realized what had happened instantly. He ran over to one of the bodies then to Zylka who was now lying perfectly dead on the ground. A peculiar look passed over his face, almost like he couldn’t comprehend what had happened or like he had seen a ghost. He reached down to let Ty out from under the engine. He paused only to glance back at him, giving him a nod before he ran off. 

Ty turned back to the woman on the ground, just as Nick ran over to him. 

“What did I say about suicide missions you asshole?” He demanded checking to make sure Ty wasn’t bleeding. “I’d smack you upside the head for it but I’m sure both Zane and Mara get that privilege first.” he said in a calmer voice, relief audible as he spoke. Ty patted his shoulder, nodding. 

“Zane,” Ty breathed, pushing past Nick and stumbling over to him. Zane had moved over to where Nat was laying, Kelly hovering over her, putting pressure on her wound, his head shaking and breathing unsteady. 

Wordlessly, Ty dropped to his knees beside her and his husband. She was gasping for air, blood staining her pale lips. 

“Thank you,” She whispered in a rush and Zane smoothed a hand over her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment, pressing into the touch and Ty reached out to hold her hand. 

“You’re her mother,” Ty accused gently. She nodded, laughing a little. 

“Not anymore,” She said. Her body shivered and twitched with the loss of blood. 

“No, you’ll always be her mother,” Zane argued, petting her gently, trying to ease the pain a little. She smiled sadly, coughing more blood. 

“I’m glad it was you,” She whispered, her eyes glazed. “Gentle man,” She clipped with her thick accent. She squeezed Ty’s hand and used her free one to lift to Zane’s face, smearing a little blood over his cheek. He bit his lip and hung his head closer to her so she wouldn’t have to reach. She gasped one last time before letting off a soft breath, her eyes flattening in death. Her hand fell away and the other laid slack in Ty’s. Zane looked up into Ty’s eyes with tears. Ty reached over her to touch touch him, lacing their fingers. 

They mourned her, thanked her. Together. 

~*~

Shots hit their mark with stunning accuracy, he smiled as the russian man fell, even after years of being out of the field he was still good with a gun. A moment later he watched Julian Cross step away and run off away from the body. Somethings never changed, and some things you never really forgot. That or Julian was chasing after every sniper he ever came across. 

Behind him he could hear a movement; the subtle scrape of a tripod being moved across concrete then soft footsteps. 

The barrel of a gun settled on his shoulder, like he was being used for a tripod instead. Besides him in a whisper the other man mocked a gun-shot sound comically. He let a light laugh escaped him. “How’s that?”

“Perfectly steady love, you could be my new tripod.”

“Don’t count on it.” He retorted. 

“Well in that case,” The other said removing the gun so that he could take it apart and pack it away. ”Shall we head down to see an old friend or two?”

All he got in response was a smile. 

~*~

As soon as he left the rest of the men behind, Julian was scanning the tops of buildings, looking around for any sign of where the other shooter must have been during the fight. A thought kept invading his mind, one that he had been dwelling over for years now. 

A light in one of the abandoned buildings caught his eye. It was like a beacon or a trap shining invitingly to him. He let a hand fall to his hip to check for his gun before he walked in, after the hell they went through today it was better to be safe. 

Though the thought and the hope had been with him for years he was completely unprepared for who he saw waiting for him in the worn out room. 

“Preston.” He said, it sounded almost like a question rather than a statement. 

“Good to see you too. . .Sir” Preston said walking over towards Julian who looked rattled. 

“How are you alive?” He demanded putting a shaking hand on his shoulder to make sure he was real, then as soon as it hit something solid he pulled him into a crushing hug before Preston could answer. 

“Long story Julian, but you know how these things tend to go.” Preston said slipping in Julian’s name rather than what he always said. 

“You faked your death?!” Julian demanded stepping away, he came off sounding angry thought Preston knew better. 

“Oh please like you didn’t do the same from what I’ve heard.” The other man said walking up casually behind Preston. Julian hadn’t even noticed him until that moment too shocked at seeing his old friend again. 

Julian shot him a look, the man was vaguely familiar. “I’m so sorry, who the hell are you?” He asked irritated at the same time that Preston turned to the other man with a softer expression that Julian had never on him before and said. 

“Liam," He held out his hand to him and Liam eyed Julian before slowly coming up and slipping his palm against Preston's. 

It took Julian a moment to catch up with what he was seeing. 

“Sorry love, but he’s good looking and you know I get jealous.” Liam said and Preston snorted a laugh before he could stop himself. 

“You.” Julian asked “You and him?”

“It would appear so sir.” Preston said looking at him with a smile. 

~*~

Zane opened his eyes to stark fluorescents. He blinked awake, cringing away and he felt a tug at his hand. He glanced sideways, Ty smiling softly at him with a sleeping Evie in his arms. 

“Jesus, how long was I out?” He grunted. Ty chuckled, turning his face into her curls and breathing her in while he held Zane’s hand. 

“About a day in and out after your surgery,” Ty answered him softly. “Cam flew in with her this morning,” He added. 

“I want to hold her,” Zane said desperately and Ty frowned. 

“You’ll rip your stitches. It’s my opportunity to become the new favorite,” Ty sniffed and Zane glared. Ty slid a sly glance to him and chuckled, shaking his head. He leaned over, gently patting Evie’s back to wake her and she rubbed at her eyes vigorously before turning to look at Zane. 

“Daaa,” She moaned, wriggling in Ty’s arms. Zane smiled, his eyes stinging. Now that he’d seen her mother, that’s all her could see. 

“I’m here, darling,” He whispered, reaching out his hand. When he attempted to sit up, his stitches pulled so he sighed back into the hospital bed. 

Evie clutched at his hand and sucked on his knuckle, her bright eyes twinkling and comfortable. Ty smiled, nuzzling her cheek and rocking her. Zane felt as if they were on borrowed time again, but he wasn’t going to complain.

“We made it,” Ty said after a moment. 

“No more,” Zane whispered and Ty nodded, knowing he meant no more near death experiences. No more close calls. 

“I love you, Daddy,” Ty grinned slowly and Zane rolled his eyes. 

“Love you, Doll.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justyna and I started this at the beginning of summer. A sliver of an idea formed into something amazing. We were able to bring our favorite characters to life and give them a gift we thought they needed. 
> 
> We would like to thank every last one of you for taking the time to read our words. We would like thank Abi Roux for creating a world with Zane and Sidewinder in it. For creating the love we all wish for. We hope this story gives you a sense of Nostalgia as it did for us. That you smile when you read the final word. 
> 
> Keep your eyes open, this isn’t the end for Evie... or others. 
> 
> Epilogue will be posted soon.
> 
> And we might have a little bit more planned in terms of Liam and Preston too if anyone is interested. . . more details soon on Tumblr!


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